


Take Her Heart, Change Your Mind

by SteveDuck



Series: Travels with The Pilot [6]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Alternate Canon s05e29-32 Change Your Mind, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Dimension Travel, EVERYTHING GOES WRONG, Explosions, F/M, Family, Friendship, Gen, Heist, Killer Robots, Major Original Character(s), Mucking About on Homeworld, what could go wrong?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:27:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 56,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26562856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SteveDuck/pseuds/SteveDuck
Summary: White Diamond is tightening her grip on Homeworld, every gem in her home facet are under her control and nothing happens without her or her Silver Starlight seeing it. Steven wants to change her mind, but diplomacy has been snatched off the table by Roxillan, enemy and mother of Pilot, Steven's friend, mentor, and ally. Using a black spindle, an exact copy of her very heart, Roxillan has control of the most powerful gem in the galaxy and therefore her empire too.Steven has to call every friend and ally he can to pull off a heist, stealing and destroying the black spindle so that he finally has a chance to speak to White and change her mind!
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe
Series: Travels with The Pilot [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1368157
Comments: 48
Kudos: 18





	1. Infiltration

Connie sat in the corner glancing around. To the left of her was Blue Diamond, across from Blue was Yellow, both Diamonds were curled up, trying to minimise the space their towering forms took up in the limited space of Pilot’s ship. Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Bismuth were stood together discussing backup plans, Connie had decided to stop listening after taking one too many worst-case scenarios into her mind. Peridot and Lapis were sat opposite Connie holding hands, they hadn’t stated it, but they looked scared. To a lesser extent all the gems looked scared. Connie looked to Pilot at the helm, he didn’t look scared, he always seemed to zone out as his instincts took over at the helm, he danced from lever to button to wheel as he drove the black and blue saucer shaped vessel through space in defiance of relativity.

“Are you feeling alright Connie?” The boy next to her asked.

“Yeah. Why’d you ask Steven?”

“It’s just that you’ve been squeezing my hand pretty hard for a while now. Are you scared?”

“No. Sorry.” She loosened her grip.

“I didn’t say stop.” Steven squeezed her back, lowering his voice. “I’m scared. White has really messed up Homeworld and Roxillan is going to be looking for us. Anything you’re sc- concerned about?”

“I think I accidently lied to my parents.” Connie admitted. Connie looked from the streaming stars out the viewscreen to her watch.

Only three hours ago she had been on Earth, giving her mom and dad hugs goodbye before boarding the ship. “Be careful. We love you.” Had been their only words of caution. Now she was bound for Homeworld, where Roxillan and White Diamond waited.

On the other side of Blue Diamond, Mighty Spark cracked open a concerned eye, having been woken from his nap.

“Accidently?” Steven questioned.

“Well, if they knew what this mission was, they’d never have let me go.”

Mighty Spark stepped out from the other side of Blue Diamond and approached the two of them. “Hey kids!” He smiled. “How you holding up?”

“We’re fine.” Connie told him.

Connie could tell he didn’t believe her. “Alright,” he said quietly, “you don’t want the others to hear, that’s fine. My knees are going to kill me for this tomorrow.” He slowly sat down cross legged before them. “So, you lied to your parents? What did you tell them?”

“Roxillan’s controlling White Diamond with a black spindle, we’re going to Homeworld to destroy it so White will help us cure the corrupted gems.”

“That’s about right Connie.” Mighty Spark observed.

“Then why did they let me go?” Connie responded. Her voice grew quieter and quieter. “Homeworld is dangerous, we barely escaped last time. I might not come back.”

Some dark, buried thought stirred in Steven’s mind as his knuckles whitened around his girlfriend’s arm. “Connie…”

“Steven… That’s my arm! Steven, ow!”

Steven relaxed his grip as the foreign thought gave way to more natural concern and reburied itself. “Sorry!” He kissed her arm better before raising his eyeline to hers. “I’ll make sure you come back Connie.”

“We all will.” Mighty Spark agreed. “Your parents didn’t stop you from coming because they know what you’re made of.”

“They think I can fight Homeworld?” She asked doubtfully.

“This is burglary not warfare. We aren’t here to fight Homeworld.”

“Right.” Connie nodded. “Sorry for being scared Mighty Spark.”

“Sorry?” Mighty Spark responded. “Connie, this mission is manageable but it ain’t going to be a cakewalk. Fear is a very reasonable response as long as you don’t panic. It makes you run faster, it grants mental clarity. Everyone here should be a bit scared.”

“Are you scared?” Asked Steven.

“A little.” He smiled.

“But you’re one of the strongest people here.” Connie objected. “What could you possibly be scared of?”

Mighty Spark automatically glanced towards his son at the helm before looking back. “Well, I am on the team whose mission is to punch White Diamond in the head. I hear she’s the strongest being in the galaxy.”

They were interrupted by the sound of the ship’s engines reversing direction in response to Pilot spinning the dial of a spontaneously appearing rotary phone. The ship stopped in orbit of Homeworld.

Pilot turned from the helm, the mismatched controls vanishing. “Ladies, gentleman, dad, we have arrived at Homeworld. Is everybody ready for this?”

“Yep!” Connie declared.

“Yes.” Garnet confirmed.

“Why else would we be here?” Yellow Diamond questioned.

“A-Affirmative!” Peridot shouted.

With nobody saying no, Pilot continued. “Before we start our mission, each of you should have one of these.”

One of Axia’s drones pushed a table on wheels out of one of the side doors. On the table were a number of small devices, enough for everyone minus Axia and Pilot.

“Earpieces?” Steven identified, picking one up.

“They are connected to Axia’s comms systems by a DED chip. Can’t be jammed, can’t be tapped. For the sake of those of you not blessed with ears, which is a disturbingly high proportion now that I think about it, they can also function as hairclips.”

Everybody took an earpiece.

“Now they work via a conventional microphone, so they don’t work in the vacuum of space.” Pilot explained.”

“Vacuum of space?” Yellow Diamond questioned. “Why don’t we land?”

Everybody looked at her in surprise or annoyance. “We went over this a week ago!” Pilot exclaimed.

Before Yellow could snap back at him, Blue put a hand on her shoulder. “You remember what our role in the plan is, right?” 

“Of course.” Yellow stated, slightly embarrassed. “We and the Spark human are meant to restrain White if something goes wrong.”

“Good.” Pilot nodded, calmer. “Steven, do you want to explain for the sake of Yellow and anyone else who may have forgotten why we can’t land the ship yet?”

“Sure.” Steven nodded. “Homeworld is surrounded by sensor satellites. If the ship flies through the grid, we’ll be detected. Axia can shoot down some of the satellites but if we do that without taking out the ground relay station, that will set off alarms too. Axia can make some holes in the grid big enough for Lapis, Bismuth, Peridot, and Pilot to slip through so they can take out the Palatial Facet’ ground relay station.”

“I just gained Homeworld security access, I can up sensor intensity at will.” Axia confirmed.

“How did you breach Homeworld’s security so quickly?” Blue enquired.

“Has anyone updated Homworld’s data security in the last five thousand years?” The AI questioned back.

Neither diamond gave an answer.

“Alright,” Pilot beckoned to Peridot, Lapis, and Bismuth, “now’s as good a time as any. Shall we Peridot?”

“Sure!”

Peridot and Pilot danced briefly. In a burst of light and fibrous veins Warp Peridot formed. Without so much as a flick of the wrist, Peridot’s lid, with railguns holstered, floated into one of their four free hands. At the same time a pair of sunglasses lifted out of an internal pocket of Pilot’s jacket and hovered over to Lapis. “You should take those.” The fusion said.

Lapis took them out of the air. “Pilot’s sunglasses?”

“They’ll let you see the sensor grid so you can slip through the holes.” Warp Peridot explained. “Pilot want’s them back after we get through.”

“Thanks.” Lapis donned the glasses.

“Ok!” Warp Peridot smiled. “Am I forgetting anything?”

Connie raised her hand. “Can you breathe in space?”

“Of course not.” The fusion replied. “No one can breathe in space, there’s no air.”

“But do you need air?”

Warp Peridot opened their mouth to answer, stopped, held their breath for a few seconds and started breathing again. “Yes I do. Good thing I have Pilot’s space suit.”

“You aren’t wearing Pilot’s space suit.” Steven pointed out.

“Oh Steven, do you really think Pilot would sacrifice practicality for style.” Warp Peridot zipped up Pilots jacket and managed to squeeze the hood over their large, rigid hair. They then reached in an pulled a balaclava from under Pilot’s shirt and pulled it up over their mouth and nose, a visor dropped down from the lip of their hood, its lower edge fusing with the balaclava’s upper edge. Inside, Pilot’s clothes fused together rendering them airtight.

“Are we ready to go now?” Asked Bismuth.

“Sure.” Replied Lapis.

Warp Peridot gave three thumbs up.

The three of them made their way to the back of the ship. Warp Peridot pressed an elevator button that had spontaneously appeared on a holographic blue disc. A blue forcefield appeared between the three of them and the others.

“What’s that?” Asked Steven.

“Airlock.” Mighty Spark replied.

With a press of another button, the ship’s rear doorway opened. As the pull of the ship’s artificial gravity gave way to the pull from the planet below them, Lapis, Bismuth, and Warp Peridot looked down at the almost bleached expanse beneath them. Lapis spread her wings and took Bismuth’s hand. Warp Peridot tightened their grip on Peridot’s lid. The three shared a nod.

They jumped.

As they fell toward the planet’s atmosphere there was no sound, they no air rushed past them. Suddenly, with their lenses, Lapis and Warp Peridot saw a great sea of inferred beams, they blocked the planet. Lapis started to pull up, seeing no holes and fearing something was amiss. The fusion made no such attempt.

At the last moment Axia implemented her hack. The inferred condensed into brighter but narrower beams, reducing the cover around the planet from a fabric to a net with holes big enough for them to dive through, Warp Peridot first, followed by Lapis and Bismuth.

About one hundred feet of plummeting later, Lapis and Bismuth tasted air, a thousand feet of falling later, Lapis felt the air had reached a density such that it could effectively carry sound to her friends. She pulled up to hover gently. “We alright guys?”

“You bet!” Bismuth replied.

Warp Peridot took a few moments to realize their friends had stopped falling, falling a few hundred feet in that time. They stood up on their lid and rose back up to meet them.

“Here’s Pilot’s glasses back.” Said Lapis.

As one hand took the sunglasses, Warp Peridot used two more to pull down their hood, the attached lenses vanishing and their triangular hair immediately popping back into place. They unzipped their jacket so they could put the sunglasses away. “Thanks.” They did not pull down their balaclava since the air was still too thin to breathe. The four miniature railguns unholstered themselves and flew into their owner’s hands. They opened communications with the ship. “Outside team to ship, we’re through. No issue so far.”

“Good job guys!” Steven replied.

“Where’s the ground relay then?” Asked Lapis.

“Projecting directions to Warp Peridot’s visor now.” Axia informed them.

“This way!” Warp Peridot said taking the lead.


	2. Relay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the ship in orbit of Homeworld, the first challenge faced is to get on planet without being spotted. Lapis, Bismuth, and Warp Peridot have slipped through the sensors and must now open up a hole for the ship to get through by taking down a satellite relay station.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Bad language and Menace.

Hidden by their tiny size against the great pink sky of Homeworld, Lapis, carrying Bismuth, and Warp Peridot, supported by their floating metal lid flew high over the palatial facet.

Warp Peridot halted.

Lapis stopped a little way ahead of them. “Which way now?”

“Oh.” Warp Peridot blinked back to attention. “Sorry, I just wanted to take a good look at this place before we came under attack. Have either of you been to this facet before?”

“Nope.” Bismuth replied. “The facet had already been constructed by the time I was made, most work for a Bismuth was off world.”

“I have.” Lapis admitted. “Sometimes I’d get invited to a galactic jubilee or something, it was mostly just kissing up to higher gems and gossip, not that fun a place really.”

“It is beautiful to look at though.” Warp Peridot looked down at the densely built megacity built on the bones of some of the first kindergartens. It was a mosaic of metallic and crystalline buildings mostly coloured after the diamonds, white, blue, yellow and pink, but other colours such as purple, green, and orange were not uncommon. The light from the local star made the facet glimmer like the bejewelled diadem of a dying goddess.

“Hey look! It’s White’s ship!” Bismuth pointed. Down between the buildings strode the humanoid ship. it marched in patrol along clear routes made for its traversal.

“Hm… Alright.” Warp Peridot calculated. “Obviously we don’t want to fight White ourselves. From where she is now it would take her about an hour to get to the ground relay at her current pace.”

“What if she picks up the pace?” Asked Bismuth.

“Assuming she doesn’t risk damaging her own facet or waste energy on a take off over what she should believe to be a normal rebellion she won’t get there any sooner than half that time. Plenty of time.”

“Let’s go then!” Lapis declared.

The three of them dove from the sky. As they got closer to the ground, the nondescript shapes of buildings became clearer in their functions. Warp Peridot pointed to one building, sky blue and almost cube shaped. The four corners of its slanting roof each supported great pylons bearing satellite dishes almost as big as the building itself. “That’s the ground relay!” The fusion explained over the rushing air. “You two need to break off the dishes so Axi can punch a hole for the ship to get on planet!”

“What about you?” Lapis shouted back.

“Once you two start wreaking house, shattering robanoids are going to be on us like hornets! I’ll keep them busy!”

“Lapis!” Bismuth called. “Drop me!”

“What?” She exclaimed.

“On the dish!”

“Ok!” Lapis spread her wings, soaring over her target and dropping her payload.

Bismuth spun as she gained momentum before straightening out, hammer-morphed fists pointed directly at her destination.

The dish leant back with a metallic groan as the meteoric strike landed. The shriek of collapsing metal soon gave way to the ping of escaping rivets and the snap of wires pulled past the limits of their tensile strength. With one almighty crash, the first dish was laid out broken across the roof.

Bismuth stood up with satisfaction as alarms started blaring.

Lapis deftly landed beside her in the wreckage. “Good job.”

“Good aim.” Bismuth replied.

“Good grief.” Warp Peridot hovered over beside them. “Could we save it for when we aren’t under attack from the automated security?”

“I don’t see any auto-,” As Lapis spoke, conical shattering robanoids poured out of the sides of the building surrounding them in a great swarm.

Lapis and Bismuth stood back to back, ready to fight. “This might get dicey.” Bismuth announced.

“Then we should stick to the plan.” Warp Peridot, floating slightly above them, sighed. “ ** _Railgun Bloom…_** ” They said quietly. Like a ballerina, the fusion span en point, firing like an omnidirectional machine gun nest. The glowing red scanners of the robanoids vanished as they were consumed in a lotus of explosive fire. Smoking husks, torn open from the inside, rained down.

“What was that?” Bismuth exclaimed.

“High explosive pellets. You didn’t expect me to fight robanoids with flashbangs, did you?”

“Why didn’t you mention those in the plan.”

“Steven and Pearl would complain if they knew where Pilot was making them.”

“Where are you making them?” Asked Lapis.

Warp Peridot glanced around for an excuse and shot a robanoid as it rose up. “That’s not the last of them, get the next dish.”

With a nod Lapis took Bismuth’s hand and carried her over to the next pylon. As Bismuth landed, she hacked at the pylon’s protective metal jacket with her curved scissor blade. Without the momentum of a fast decent, her first strikes left only superficial scratches.

“Can’t you cut any faster?” Lapis exclaimed.

“It’s tougher than it looks!” Bismuth replied.

“The hit it harder! I don’t know how much longer Warp Peridot can hold them off!”

“Why don’t you help me then!”

“I don’t have anything to cut with!” Suddenly an idea formed in Lapis’ mind.

Bismuth paused as she felt a pair of watery wings and two slender hands grip her ankles. “Lapis, what are you doing?”

“Helping!” With the barest grunt of effort, Lapis swung Bismuth around her head like a battleaxe and drove her bladed hands through the pylon, ripping open a gash.

Bismuth re-found her footing and stared at the split metal in momentary amazement. She shook her head and retook command. “Lapis, you did it! Help me push this thing over!” Bismuth put her hands in the crack and heaved upwards, Lapis directed her hands and water wings to push the dish off the building.

As Bismuth and Lapis strained with the second dish, the robanoids came in waves. Just as they had hoped, the robanoids focused their attacks on Warp Peridot, meaning the fusion could concentrate on mowing them down, keeping only one of their four eyes on their friends. Warp Peridot shot down a cluster of robanoids before leaping out of the way of another’s shattering beam at warp speed. They took it down with returned fire before jumping back onto their flying lid, it seemed that their metal powers could not operate at warp speed. Suddenly, through the explosions and rending metal, Warp Peridot heard another sound, the sound of many simultaneous hatch openings. That meant one of two things, either the rate of shattering robanoid release was about to roughly double, or there was a new weapon entirely.

Blue, diamond-shaped torpedoes flew out and curved back toward the roof. From Peridot’s knowledge of Homeworld technology, Warp Peridot knew the missiles were gem-seeking. Warp Peridot smiled. “Nyeh heh heh…”

At that moment each and every torpedo went off course, the metal steering systems acting in perfect concert against the on-board computer’s directions. Many missiles collided or hit robanoids. Most however struck the supportive base of an unattended satellite dish, detonating en masse in a deafening explosion that ripped it from the building, sending the dish plummeting to the dark depths of Homeworld.

At the same time Bismuth and Lapis managed to push their dish over enough to expose the vital wires. With a deft strike from Bismuth’s blade, the structure became inert.

“One more!” Lapis cried. She grabbed Bismuth by the legs and flew across the roof in an almost comically berserker-like fashion. Using Bismuth again as her weapon, Lapis struck a gash into the pylon.

As Lapis and Bismuth went to shove the dish over, Warp Peridot shouted. “Guys, there’s no time!” They eyed the thickening swarm of drones around them. “If we don’t get out now, we’re not getting out! Give me some room!”

Lapis and Bismuth stood aside. Warp Peridot fired into the crack, filing the cavity with explosives.

The fusion turned around and blasted a path through the robanoid swarm. “Let’s go! Let’s go!”

Lapis grabbed Bismuth by the hand and took off, soaring from the building.

Warp Peridot put one of their railguns away and made a motion as if miming a detonator. Behind them as they flew after their allies, the final dish and pylon was torn asunder in a great blast that took several robanoids with it.

“Ground relay is unresponsive.” Axia confirmed over the comms. “Disabling satellites now.”

“Confirmed.” The fusion replied. Warp Peridot sung quietly under their breath as they flew away. “Cool guys don’t look at explosions, they turn their backs and they walk away. Who’s got time to watch an explosion? Cause cool guy’s errands that you have to walk to…”

“Warp Peridot?” Lapis questioned. “Where to now?”

“Huh? Oh, the Diamond Treasury! But let’s lose these guys first.” Warp Peridot held Lapis’ free hand before diving into the twisting darkness of the Palatial Facet’s lower reaches.

All of the shattering robanoids dove after them, all bar one. The surveillance robanoid uploaded the last of its footage and returned to base.

In Pink Diamond’s tower Roxillan lay outstretched on chaise lounge. She wore a flowing pink gown and a dainty silver tiara encrusted with shards, an appropriately unnerving addition. She curled her fingers in disgust at the image of Warp Peridot on her screen.

“Your Grace?” The pearl that had until recently belonged to Yellow Diamond asked. Like the rest of Roxillan’s staff, she was under a combination of White Diamond’s control and Roxillan’s, keeping autonomy so the gem matriarch wouldn’t work herself to death immediately, but saddled with loyalty enough that she couldn’t turn traitor. “Shall I report the attack to White Diamond?”

Roxillan’s venomous eyes turned on the gem, making her flinch, before softening. “Pardon dear?”

“The attack, your Grace. Should we report it?”

“I suppose.” Roxillan sighed. “But let’s avoid passionate language, no need to alarm our diamond. It was only a rebel attack after all.”

“It was?”

“I saw no diamond involvement. Did you?”

“The peridot’s appearance modifier was unusual.” Blue Pearl, Roxillan’s other lady in waiting, stated.

“She also had an extra set of arms!” Roxillan snapped with sudden anger.

Blue Pearl backed away with a bow, frightened. “I’m sorry your Grace!”

In a cloud of black vapour Roxilan vanished. Another and she appeared directly behind Blue Pearl. “Oh, It’s alright…” She backed the gem into a corner, savouring her fear. “I just can’t afford conspiracy theorists mistaking filthy off-colours for earthlings and starting a fucking panic! Yellow, the coin.”

With dread, Yellow Pearl removed a metal disc from her gem. It had the head of a human wearing a crown in profile on one side and kite shield with three lilies depicted on the other. She flipped the coin. “Heads.” She knew that Roxillan changed the lethal choice at random so still had no idea what was about to befall her friend.

Roxillan reached out her hand and held the shaking Blue Pearl’s cheek planting an unwelcome kiss on the other one. She turned and ducked behind a modesty screen before starting to get changed.

Knowing better than to do anything other than get straight back to her duties, Blue Pearl stood up in a salute. “Are we going out your Grace?”

“You’ve made me paranoid Blue.” Roxillan replied. “Prepare a shuttle and a retinue of quartzes to accompany us to the Treasury.”

“The treasury? Yes, your Grace.” Blue Pearl started tapping out the order on a holographic screen. “Shall I inform White?”

“Let’s not for now, don’t want to worry her. You two go on ahead, that’s an order.”

The pearls left by her order. When she thought she was out of sight, Yellow Pearl reached out a consoling hand to Blue Pearl. She retracted it with a yelp as a black spear stabbed the air between them, extending from Roxillan’s hand reaching round the screen.

When the pearls where truly gone, Roxillan stepped out, having stripped down to her undergarments. She stared at the screen, at Warp Peridot, in contempt. She shook her head. “Pilot, this is a new low even for you. What sort of miniscule power can you gain by surrendering your racial purity to a Peridot.” Seeing the fusion’s sharp, bright eyes made Roxillan think of all the other things that angered her in her current position.

Feigning loyalty to White was a pain, but one she was used to. When Roxillan no longer had need of the egotistical giant, the satisfaction of disposing of her would make up for the cute act now. The pearls, if anything, were entertaining, they were endlessly fearful of her. No, the greatest aggravation for Roxillan was in her walls.

Roxillan sat in frustration. As she expected, a perfectly sized chair rose up to meet her. How dare they know her so well? She stabbed her spear into the floor a few times. The holes seemed to repair themselves as those on the other side set to work.

The pebbles had evaded Roxillan’s grasp, and thus her kiss, all this time, even White Diamond couldn’t hit them with her powers. Despite this, the pebbles served her devotedly and, no matter where she went, they followed. Roxillan would travel to a hidden corner of the Palatial Facet, thinking she had finally escaped the little devils, only to find a luxury bedroom carved from the floor itself.

She gave a wry smile and spoke to the room, she knew they were listening. “You don’t have a vintner, do you? Also, some clothes in something other than pink would be nice, there are other colours you know.”

A small table lifted from the floor with a small multicoloured sphere and a pink tinted glass of wine.

She curiously picked up the sphere only for it to turn black and red. Suddenly, she wore a leather breastplate coloured silver and layered with red. On her back, between her shoulder blades was printed a white diamond, she wore a black skirt, split at the sides, and a pair of silver heels. Her hands bore elbow length fingerless gloves.

She picked up the glass and paused. “Wait, this is Chateau Lafite.” That was the other thing she hated about the pebbles, they kept doing things she couldn’t explain.


	3. Breaking In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With everybody now within Homeworld's atmosphere, the heist proper can begin in ernest. the ship heads for the Diamonds' Treasury. Has week old security footage prepared the crew for what lies inside? They will only know once Axia blows a hole through the walls.Once that problem is solved, it's bacicly mission complete! Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Death threats from a villan and Bad language from both sides (including the W word)

“Ground relay is unresponsive.” Axia announced. “Disabling satellites now.” The AI lined up a railgun with the distant metallic speck of a security satellite. “Firing now.” At imperceptibly high speed, a current carried an electromagnetic field down the length of the railgun, sending an inert slug down out the muzzle with unerring accuracy.

On the viewscreen it looked as if the hexagonal satellite was there one moment and gone bar a few shards of metal and solar panel the next.

“That was so cool Axi!” Steven exclaimed. “Is it safe to go through now?”

“Hang on.” As Axia spoke, a second satellite was obliterated. “It’s safe now.” The front viewscreen darkened to reveal the sensor grid. There was a large dark patch where the wrecked satellite’s sensors had been.

Mighty Spark took two spontaneously appearing blue orbs and shifted them subtly to direct the ship through the atmosphere. As they went through the hole in the sensor grid, the viewscreen returned to normal images as the ship levelled out.

Pearl noticed how Mighty Spark didn’t reach for a new steering device or lever as he changed the ship’s course. “You have a far more restrained style of flying compared to Pilot, Mighty Spark.”

Mighty Spark nodded. “The ship’s steering system works on psychic feedback, the controls you think of are the ones you get. Pilot flies the ship almost entirely on instinct, the controls he gets are thus pretty much random.”

“Doesn’t look nearly as fun as when Pilot does it.” Amethyst commented.

“Speaking of,” Connie interjected, “How are the others doing? Are they alright?”

“Warp Peridot’s vitals seem alright, but it’s hard to tell.” Axia explained. “When Pilot fuses, his heart RPM and blood pressure drop significantly.”

At that moment the comms came to life. “I think we’ve lost the robanoids!” Warp Peridot declared. “We’ll meet you above the treasury!”

“See you there.” Axia replied.

The ship continued its course high above the highest towers of the Palatial Facet. Soon, there was a rap on the back of the ship. Axia turned on the back camera to reveal Warp Peridot, Lapis, and Bismuth hovering outside. Mighty spark pressed a simple holographic button to open the door for them.

As the team entered, Warp Peridot put their railguns away, hopped off Peridot’s lid and unfused. “I’ll take the helm, shall I?” Pilot smiled.

His father surrendered the helm with a nod.

As Pilot approached the steering system the orbs were replaced by a steelpan drum with mallets. He played the first few bars of “Jump in the Line”, closing the doors. He pulled a bell rope and the ship dove down towards the facet.

The drifted down among the multicoloured buildings.

Steven glanced to the viewscreen cautiously, there was no sign of attack or alarm. “Haven’t they seen us yet?”

“No.” Garnet replied, checking her future vison.

“How is that possible?” Steven questioned. He watched as the ship, by no means massive still quite large, wove almost silently among the towers. “Couldn’t someone just look out a window and spot us?”

“Of course not, Pink,” Yellow Diamond huffed, “gem architecture lacks such structural weaknesses.”

“And we are retaining heat to cloak our presence from scanners.” Axia added.

“Can’t the ship turn invisible?” Connie recalled.

“Not while it’s in motion.” Pilot replied. “Light diffraction can’t keep up.”

They drew up to a broad, white, rectangular building, the Diamond Treasury. The ship ascended until it was above the surrounding buildings, but the treasury still towered a little way higher.

“Is this the right floor.” Pilot asked.

Axia checked her schematics. “Yes.”

Pilot nodded and pulled a break chord before turning to the others. “Alright. When Axi shoots down this wall, White will know who we are, where we are, and what we’re after, so speed is of the essence. When the wall is down, you guys,” he pointed to Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Steven, and Connie, “jump in, take out the guards, smash the case, take the spindle, and bring it aboard. Once we’ve done that, we can destroy it, head to White’s ship, and we’ll be back on Earth in time for supper!”

Steven took a deep breath. “Let’s do this.”

Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl drew their weapons and stood at the back door, ready to jump when it opened. Steven stood with them, shield in one hand, the other around Connie’s waist to carry her across the gap. She had one arm over his shoulder for support while the other held her paper gladius, formed from the ribbon previously wrapped around it.

“Fire one.” Axia announced. In an instant the wall before them fractured like a glass pane. “Fire two.” The wall farther cracked, resembling a spiderweb at the second railgun shot. “Fire three!” the wall caved inwards revealing what seemed to be a warehouse with various curios in glass cases on pedestals. The walls were ribbed with columns equipped with grates. On the far side of the room were the doors to an elevator.

Immediately, quartz soldiers started to crowd the hole. First only a couple, then a few more, and yet more, until they were like white termites, blocking a breach in their nest.

Pilot’s face fell in shock.

“Where did they all come from!” Peridot screamed. “There were only like ten in the whole building last time we were here!”

“You guys can’t jump into that.” Pilot conceded. “Mum, thin out the herd.”

Beside the right railgun, a smaller weapon, resembling a Gatling gun, whirred into life, raining rubber pellets down upon the quartzes. Though some raised their arms to protect their eyes and gems, the mob stood firm.

“Riot fire seems ineffective against quartzes.” Axia observed.

“You don’t say.” Pilot replied, stressed. “Switch to railguns, shoot to destabilise.”

“There’s too many of them.” Axia informed him. “I can’t reliably track gems to avoid accidental shattering.”

Pilot took a shaking breath and watched the sea of bleached quartzes for a moment. He looked back at his friends and teammates with a regretful glance before giving the order. “Then do your best, keep casualties to a minimum.”

“What!” Steven exclaimed. He ran up to the helm waving his arms in the hope an override button would appear. “Axia stop! We can’t shatter them, they’re under White’s control, they have no control over what they’re doing!”

“And if we don’t, we are dooming them and every other gem in this facet to an eternity of that.” Pilot argued levelly. “I’m not making this decision lightly Steven.”

“It’s not your decision to make!” Steven yelled.

“Pink’s right.” Yellow agreed with Pilot’s terse levelness. “Turn this ship around kelmep.”

“You want to leave?” Pilot almost laughed in disbelief. “It’ll only be harder to get this far next time and-“

“That’s not what I said.” Her eyes gleamed as she took on the persona of the Diamond of War. “Turn this ship around and open the door.”

Pilot span a wooden ship’s wheel to rotate his vessel, he didn’t open the door. “If they go out there it will be a fucking gem blender!”

“Will you stop assuming you know my plan!” She bellowed. She turned a calmer eye to the gems preparing to jump. “Don’t proceed until the path is clear.”

“Fine!” Pilot snapped. He turned a winch, opening the door on the massing quartz soldiers. “What now!?”

“This.” Yellow positioned herself over the doorway, taking it up almost entirely. She stuck out her hands as they lit up with energy. The energy built up and leapt from her fingertips. Like a storm, her power crashed through the exposed room. Clouds from poofing white gems obscured their vison for a few moments.

When the dust settled, the only evidence of the defending force was their intact stones littering the floor.

“Good plan.” Pilot sheepishly admitted. “Sorry for doubting you.”

Yellow Diamond only stood aside and gestured out the door. “Speed is of the essence, isn’t it?”

Taking her signal, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Steven, and Connie leapt the gap into the treasury.

As soon as her feet hit the floor, Garnet took command. “Gems, let’s pick these up and send them home. There’s no telling what White will do if she gets her hands on them.” In truth, she knew exactly what White would do, but found it to distasteful to mention in front of the children.

As the gems picked up and bubbled their fallen opponents, Steven picked up a stone. The gem was an amethyst, he could tell since they had recovered their vibrant purple hue. “Hey,” he called, “these gems aren’t white anymore. Does that mean they are free of White and Roxillan’s control?”

Garnet paused briefly to adjust her visor. “Yes. Speaking of…” She pointed to a distant pedestal. “Go get the spindle.”

Steven caught up with Connie, who had already made her way to the tall podium’s base. “Give me a boost?” She asked.

Steven took her hand and leapt up to the case. The case was made of thick crystal and was far larger than it needed to be for the black spindle inside.

Connie gave a swipe with her sword, the top half of the case slid off along a diagonal cut and fell to the ground below. The pair landed in the case, either side of the black spindle.

The spindle was identical to the others they had seen, an exact copy of Roxillan’s heart. It was black, so dark black that from some angles it looked more like the pedestal bore a hole to the abyss. The core of the spindle was round except for where it extended to needle sharp points on the poles. Spinning around the core’s equator at perpetual high speed, but not visibly connected in any way, was a single flat ring, so thin that it could not be seen from the side. The whole affair filled up about the same space as a tennis ball

Connie reached out for the item.

“Wait!” Steven cautioned. He reached out his hand, a bubble formed around the spindle before shrinking down to a more transportable size. “Safety first.”

“Thanks.” Connie smiled, picking up the bubble.

Though muffled by the bubble, Roxillan’s voice found its way into Connie’s head. “Connie Maheswaran… so much to live up to… but the potential is there… the gems don’t see it… you’re just a mortal human in their eyes… just a little push… and greatness will be yours… let me help you…”

Connie’s subconscious recognised the lies and disguised indoctrination in the message and rejected it.

“You diamond’s whore!” The heart psychically exploded. “When Steven’s under my sway you will be nothing more than a concubine he uses for entertainment! Your father with burn to death in your wrenched home! You mother will beg for mercy through a mouth full of-!”

Connie decided that if the spindle had nothing constructive to say, she would just block it out. “Let’s go Steven.”

Steven took her hand and jumped out of the case, floating both of them down to the floor. The pair ran back to the gems. “Guys, we’ve got it!” Steven exclaimed. “We’ve go-!”

His voice was drowned out by the blast of two beams of white light. They tore through the upper half of the room, obliterating the case Steven and Connie had been standing in as well as much of the opposite wall.

They stared through the hole they had entered by. Pilot’s ship was gone and, in the distance, White Diamond’s humanoid ship was approaching.


	4. Battling a Diamond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> White knows that Pilot, her fellow diamonds and the Crystal Gems have her spindle, and the aren’t getting away as long as she and her ship still stand. Thankfully, Pilot is at the helm of his own ship ready to slow her down and introduce a payload of diamonds and his father into her control room. With White fighting an assault outside and in, the odds seem to be against her. She is the perfect gem however, at the helm of the most powerful ship Homeworld has ever constructed, she knows how to turn the fight to her favour.

Steven activated his earpiece as he stood at the hole in the wall, looking around desperately. “Guys? Are you alright? Where are you? Are you hit?”

For a few harrowing moments the comms were silent. “We’re alright Steven!” Pilot replied finally. In his ship, he was pulling up furiously. “We took a dive just before White fired! You guys have to get to ground level fast, White is trying to tear the treasury apart!”

“But the spindle!” Pearl exclaimed. “She wouldn’t risk damaging it! Would she?”

“Roxillan’s probably told her that it’s borderline indestructible!” Pilot answered. “White would rather demolish the building and dig through the rubble than let you get away with it!”

“Are you going to pick us up?” Steven asked.

“When I can! If I stop long enough for you to board White will shoot us down. Find a landmark and I’ll pick you up from there when it’s safe! Now get out of there!” Pilot arched the ship around the buildings and towards White Diamond’s far larger vessel. As Pilot’s ship flew into view from between its legs, the Diamond Mecha swung at it. Pilot wove elegantly between the metal limbs before slamming his fist into a button to open the door. “Lapis! Bismuth! Peridot! Keep the arms busy!”

Lapis took to the wing and dove out the door, Bismuth grabbed the handle on the underside of Peridot’s lid and the pair followed Lapis out.

“Well, that should slow her approach.” Mighty Spark noted.

“But her lasers could destroy the treasury from here.” Yellow cautioned.

“Then I guess we’re taking out the eyes then.” Pilot replied.

As the ship flew up the robot’s torso Axia fired the ships’ railguns into its chest. The impacts made large though mechanically superficial craters in the thick metal. Axia aimed both guns at one of the metal titan’s eyes and fired. Both rounds hit home, causing the head to lurch backwards a bit as Pilot’s ship rose to eye level.

The head recovered from the jolt and locked its intact eyes on the ship. “Blast shields.” Pilot recognised. As the enemy ship’s eyes started to glow, Pilot pulled a lever. The beams missed the small ship by millimetres. “Did you see that!” Pilot exclaimed excitedly.

“What?” Yellow asked sarcastically. “You almost getting us obliterated?”

“I saw it.” Axia confirmed. “The blast shield rises point five seconds before the beams fire.”

Pilot made a wide loop to gain distance from the target before flying straight toward the eyes.

“Aren’t you going to take evasive manoeuvres? She’ll hit us at this range!” Blue cried.

“That what we want her to think!” Pilot smiled.

“You can’t possibly hit both laser batteries before they fire!” Yellow shouted.

The eyes of White Diamond’s ship started to glow.

“Who said we were doing that?” He chuckled. “Will you stop assuming you know my plan.”

Behind Pilot and Mighty Spark’s backs Yellow held her fellow diamond’s hand.

As the blast shield opened, railgun rounds hit the left eye, not in the laser battery but in the power feed. The light fluid being directed into the laser was freed from its magnetic containment and immediately detonated from the pressure differential, annihilating the laser cannon and turning the socket into a quickly deteriorating rocket engine, propelling the head backwards. As the ships arms flailed to keep balance the undamaged laser fired into space.

Seeing the sudden loss in balance, Lapis piled into the back of the right leg like a watery torpedo, at the same time, Peridot and Bismuth slammed into the left. With the combined effort White’s ship started to fall.

“Take that! You sparkly white bitch!” Pilot yelled victoriously.

“Erm, Pilot?” Steven said over the comms. “Your mic is on.”

“Oh.” Pilot responded embarrassedly. “Sorry.” He switched his microphone to exclude Steven, Connie, and Pearl.

Suddenly the ship’s arms grabbed hold of two nearby towers. As the blaze in its left eye went out, the ship got back on its feet.

“It got up after all that!” Peridot yelled.

“It’s not Homeworld’s flagship for nothing!” Pilot replied. “Look on the bright side. Now White knows she isn’t getting to the spindle,” He gripped his ship’s controls, “without going through us!”

“Yeah!” Cried Lapis.

“We’re not gonna let you down Steven!” Peridot added. “We’ll take care of this!”

“Please be careful!” Steven replied.

“Don’t worry Steven!” Bismuth cheered. “I’ll keep an eye on her.” She laughed. “So Pilot, what now?”

“We need to find a way to get the diamonds and my dad on board!” Pilot explained.

“It seems that our assault has rendered the left blast shield incapable of closing.” Axia pointed out. “From the ship’s schematics, that is a potential entry point.”

“You guys hear that?” Asked Pilot. “You lot keep White’s hands away from her face and I’ll take the payload to the eye!”

Pilot’s ship soared around the far larger head, it dipped under the functional eye and rose up as its back door opened and they approached the damaged opening.

“You guys jump on my signal!” Pilot called back to his remaining passengers.

The diamonds squatted by the door, wind rushing through their hair. Mighty Spark stood beside Blue Diamond. “Do you mind carrying me in Miss Diamond?” He asked her. “My legs aren’t what they used to be.”

“Alright.” Blue placed the human on her shoulder. “Hold on.”

They approached the eye. “Jump!” Pilot shouted.

On the kelmep’s signal Yellow and Blue jumped. Yellow landed on her feet on the other side, Blue caught the ledge and hauled herself up with Yellow’s help. “Thanks Yellow.” She smiled. She and her fellow diamond stood at their full heights, stretching their limbs. “It’s nice to be out of that little ship.”

“Indeed.” Yellow agreed staring deeper into White’s robotic head.

“Shall we get to it?” Mighty Spark asked. “Best not keep White waiting.”

“Yes.” Blue nodded apprehensively. “The floor isn’t exactly stable out here.” She started to walk down the dark tunnel.

“Wait!”

“What is it Yellow?”

“If what Pilot said is true, then we may have to fight White.”

“Probably.” Mighty Spark agreed.

“Then we should be in our best condition when we face her.” Yellow posited. “I for one still have sore limbs. I will perform a few more stretches before we proceed.”

“Alright Yellow.” Blue nodded. “We can wait here for a few moments for you.”

Yellow nodded and began to stretch. In her mind, she psyched herself up to fight White Diamond, the gem she still secretly considered unassailable.

Suddenly, the ship’s head jerked. Yellow slipped and fell out the eye. At lightning speed Blue reached out and caught Yellow’s hand. “I’ve got you!” She anchored herself by grabbing a bundle of wires. There was a mechanical growl above them. She looked up. The blast shield was straining against the scrap holding it up, Blue knew it could not hold. She pulled Yellow into her arms, falling back onto the floor. The blast shield slammed shut, plunging the three of them into darkness.

The three of them stood up, the diamonds illuminating the area with their gems. “Well, there’s no getting out that way now.” Mighty Spark commented. “Let’s go.”

The three of them found the tunnel to be not particularly long. It ended with a vent grate large enough for a diamond to pass through. Yellow tore the grate from its holdings and the three of them jumped down into a vast monochrome chamber.

The ceiling was black, creating an aura of oppressive darkness despite the fact the rest of the room, the floor and central platform, radiated sterile white light. Most radiant of all however was the room’s central occupant. White Diamond stood on the central platform, arms out, feet together, half again the height of Yellow or Blue. Her whole being shone like a white dwarf star but especially her gem, which glowed so fiercely that it almost seemed to be made of light incarnate. Her cloak contained a galaxy of glistening stars. At the platform’s base stood her pearl, equally monochrome with a blank, cracked eye. She copied her mistress’ pose exactly.

White looked down, unconcerned. “Blue, Yellow. You are turning yourselves in for execution?”

“No White.” Blue responded. “We are here to free you!”

“By assaulting my ship?” White asked with a knowing look.

“The kelmep is controlling you!” Yellow exclaimed.

White’s smiling mask briefly broke as her upper lip twinged with aggravation. “Roxillan is the only being who can understand even the basics of my plan and the only one who’s perfection approaches my own. But let’s not use this pretence,” White smiled, “jealousy is such an imperfect emotion Yellow.”

“No worse than arrogance!” Mighty Spark smiled back.

White lowered her gaze farther, pretending she had only just noticed him. “Oh, you have brought a human pet with you, Pink has really been a bad influence. I shall restrain it so we can talk in peace.”

White Diamond’s pearl glided towards them.

Blue stepped up defensively. Mighty Spark warped ahead of her. “There’s no need for violence yet. She’s under White’s control, isn’t she?” He turned back to White. “You didn’t have Roxy’s help for this one, did you?”

“I removed her flaws some time ago.” The pearl replied in White’s voice.

“And now see through her eyes.”

“Yes.” She reached for the gem in her stomach and drew a long pink ribbon attached to a sleek handle.

“Good. You’ll want a front row seat for this.” Mighty Spark vanished. In an instant, Pearl found her hands tied together with Mighty spark holding her ribbon’s handle. A moment later, Mighty Spark launched the handle into the black ceiling with such force that it became lodged like an ice pick in a glacier leaving Pearl dangling safely out of reach. He looked up at White as if nothing had happened. “You mentioned your plan. Maybe it’s because I’m a simple human but I can’t tell what all this isolation, exhaustion, and control is supposed to achieve.”

“Perfection.” White replied.

Mighty Spark looked around the room. “Well, I don’t see a cute brunet and a thunder beer anywhere, so I suppose your definition of perfection is different to mine.”

“With the help of my Silver Starlight I am erasing my people’s flaws. Once this planet is cleansed, we will expand at a rate gemkind has never seen before.”

“Why?”

“Because none will be able to stop us.”

“Not what I meant.” Though his face still smiled, something in Mighty Spark’s demeanour shifted enough to give the diamond pause. “When your plan succeeds, when your empire is expanding at a rate ‘never seen before’,” he made inverted comas with his fingers, “who will be happy?”

White was silent. Though she would never say so, the question was one she hadn’t considered.

“The gems under your control certainly won’t be happy.”

White Diamond stared him down, her plastered on smile wilting.

“Don’t expect the life on the planets you’ll destroy will be thrilled either.”

She frowned.

“I suppose that only leaves you.” Mighty Spark mused, still smiling. “Will you be happy?”

The answer slipped through her teeth unbidden. “No.” She caught herself, she took refuge in anger. “No! That’s not the point!”

“Then what is!?” Yellow Diamond’s shout broke the staring contest. “Blue and I have been following you for millennia because we thought you knew what you were doing!” Years of frustration she had been too afraid to confront boiled to the surface. “I always thought you were at least trying to make life better for gems!”

“Perfection requires sacrifice Yellow; you know that.” White chided. “We must not be distracted by our petty desires if we wish to expand.”

“Why do we want that!?” Blue questioned, eyes tearing up. “Pink made us happy! Pink made all of us happy! Our desire to expand took her away from us! Pink was worth more to me than expansion and we lost her!” She fell to her knees and sobbed, overcome by emotion.

Tears appeared in White’s eyes. “B-Blue… S-Stop… Please stop crying…” White stepped one foot off the platform, hand reaching out uncertainly to comfort.

Blue looked up. “White? Are you back?” She got to her feet and ran to White’s embrace.

“Blue wait!” Yellow exclaimed, but Blue was already out of her reach.

As White found her arms around a loved one for the first time in centuries, the tendrils of Roxillan’s power started to lose their grip on her psyche. “Oh Blue, I don’t know what happened. I’m so…” She froze.

Blue looked with concern. “White?”

Yellow Diamond stepped up to the pair putting a fearful arm on Blue’s shoulder, gently pulling her. “Blue, get away from her.”

As hard as she fought, White felt her mind sink back into the abyss of Roxillan’s grasp. It found her arrogance and fear of the possibility she may be anything less than perfect and stuck like glue. Her awakened mind gave one last message. “I’m so sorry.” She closed her eyes, a single sparkling tear fell from her cheek to the glowing floor. Her eyes opened with beams of bleaching white light.


	5. Escaping the Treasury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Diamond Treasury could be shot down at any moment, and Steven, Connie, and the Gems are inside. Fortunately, Garnet has a plan to save the children. Unfortunately, it doesn’t save herself. The gems have beaten Roxillan before, but that was on their own terms. Now they have to fight her on Homeworld, the future looks grim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: this is a pretty bad chapter. Spoken death threats, threats of difiguration, theats of pshycological and emotional harm, actual dismemberment, homophobic villan.

“Get out of there!” They heard Pilot’s voice turn from the microphone as he addressed the gems on his ship.

“It seems we’re on our own for a while.” Garnet summarised.

“Yeah…” Steven agreed worriedly.

“Calm down Steven, it will be ok.”

“Really?”

Garnet paused to check her future vision. Her shudder would have been invisible if Steven hadn’t been so perceptive. “Yes.”

“A-Alright.” Steven replied. “Pilot said to get out of the treasury. The fastest way down would be to jump I guess.” He edged towards the ledge. He put an arm around his girlfriend. “I’ll carry you Connie.”

Garnet grabbed both youths by the collar. “Wait!” She let go of Connie and pointed downward. A moving carpet of white bodies undulated around the base of the building.

“We’re cornered!” Connie exclaimed.

“Not necessarily.” Garnet replied. She led them back into the building to one of the grates. The grate possessed a handle that allowed Garnet to open it like a door.

“A waste disposal hatch!” Pearl realised. “What a brilliant idea Garnet!”

“Ew.” Steven sighed.

“Don’t worry Steven.” Pearl assured him. “You won’t be falling into any biological waste, probably things like scrap metal and broken glass.”

“Broken glass!” Connie exclaimed.

“Steven will form a bubble around you.” Garnet explained.

“What about you guys?” Asked Steven.

“We’re going to go over the rooftops to affect a distraction. You two have to go find something to destroy that heart with.” She saw the concern in Steven’s eyes. “It will be ok Steven.” She knelt down and hugged him.

“I’ll see you guys later then, right?” Steven squeezed the fusion back before letting go.

“Yeah dude!” Amethyst beamed.

“A-Alright.” Steven nodded. “Let’s go Connie.” He held her hand and the walked to the open grate. He looked down. There was inky darkness broken by a faint light seemingly miles below. He turned back to the gems with a brave smile. “See you later!”

“Later Ste-man!” Amethyst grinned.

“You three be careful!” Said Connie.

“You too!” Pearl replied. “Stay together!” 

“You two have great things in your future!” Garnet predicted with a smile.

Steven smiled back before forming a bubble himself and Connie. They rolled into the dark ventilation shaft and fell out of sight.

Garnet closed the grate behind them as her smile faded. “I hope I’ll be there to see them.” She said quietly.

“What was that Garnet?” Asked Pearl.

Garnet looked down at her hands, at her wedding rings. She hugged herself tightly as tears fell from her eyes.

“G-Squad?” Amethyst put a cautious hand on the fusion. “Are you alright? Should we get going?”

Garnet nodded to the hatch. “You go after them, I’m staying.”

“What? Why?”

“Roxillan’s coming. She’s coming for Steven and Connie and I’m going to slow her down.” She summoned her gauntlets.

“Then why do it alone!?” Amethyst questioned. “We’ve fought her once, we can beat her again!”

“That was on our terms. I… I don’t see many futures where I win this fight.”

“What if we stay and fight with you?” Pearl offered.

Garnet shook her head. “There aren’t many there either.”

“Are there more?” Amethyst asked.

Garnet looked at her, silently begging her not to ask.

“Are there more futures where we win if we stay with you than if we leave you?”

“Yes,” the fusion admitted, “There are a few more.”

“Then how could I leave you?” Amethyst drew her whip.

“Amethyst, this is dangerous, nine times out of ten we get poofed and shattered!”

The quartz did not move.

Pearl drew her spear.

“Pearl…”

Pearl faced away from the grate, looked to the fusion over her shoulder. “In case you’ve forgotten, I was Rose Quartz’s lieutenant, I outrank you. If anything, I should be ordering you and Amethyst to leave.”

Amethyst shrugged. “I never was good at following orders.”

Suddenly, Garnet brought them into a tight hug. “I couldn’t ask for better allies, or better friends.”

On the far side of the room, the elevator doors slid open silently. “Well, isn’t this sweet.” Roxillan stepped out of the elevator. “A ragtag bunch of freaks deciding to die together.” Her spear weaved itself together from the shadows between her fingers. It stretched and contracted itself like a muscle as a few spare drops of shadow fell to the floor, creating tiny shaded spots with no source of shade. 

The gems broke their embrace and entered defensive positions. “We’ve decided to kick your butt!” Amethyst retorted.

Roxillan glanced about as if unsure of who was talking. “I’m sorry, I don’t believe your commander has given you permission to speak. Kick my butt you say?” She gave a mocking grin. “Will you be able to reach?” Her voice seemed to produce a gentle breeze which carried it from her to the quartz.

The simple tease hit Amethyst like a hammer of conceptual power. Every insecurity Amethyst had about her form, all the determination she had to be great despite being overcooked, it all boiled to the surface and overwhelmed her. “Don’t you talk down to me!” The drew a second whip, setting both it and her first one alight. She revved up into a blazing ball and charged.

“Amethyst! Wait!” Pearl cried.

Roxillan vanished in a burst of shadow. The drops of shadow on the floor consumed each other, growing in size until one remained, about the width of a man’s wrist. Out from the puddle of shadow burst a spear, extending until it met the rolling ball head on.

Amethyst dangled upside down, suspended in mid-air, her hair just touching the ground. She looked back at her horrified compatriots. A spearhead erupted from her stomach.

Roxillan reappeared beside her. “Well kicked Amethyst.” She smiled sarcastically. “You know, your demise should be enough to activate the conceptual trap I set here. I call it the misery pit, the more goes wrong, the harder it is to fight back.”

“W-What?” Amethyst croaked, trying to hold herself together long enough to get her hands on the kelmep.

A gentle wind blew around the room, each cycle seemed to tie a weight to the centre of Garnet and Pearl’s being, keeping them from moving.

“Simply put darling, you’ve killed your friends.”

Amethyst looked back at Garnet and Pearl, regret and sorrow swimming in her eyes. “I’m sor-“

Roxillan jammed her spear through the quartz’s throat. The purple stone clattered on the ground. “Sorry about that, I can’t stand sappiness. Once the heart is broken, everything else just muddies the water, wouldn’t you say?”

She went to pick up the fallen gem when Garnet and Pearl broke free from the trap and descended upon her. “Get away from her!” Pearl shouted.

Roxillan teleported to about twenty feet away.

Pearl fired lasers after her. “You aren’t getting Amethyst! You aren’t getting Steven! You aren’t getting Connie!”

“Oh?” Roxillan questioned, vanishing out of the projectiles’ path. “Do I have to get past the pair of you?” She drew her free hand toward herself, balling it into a fist.

Nothing happened.

“She tried to extend spears from our shadows.” Garnet explained. “She can’t do it unless we doubt ourselves.”

“I’d doubt myself in your position.” Roxillan piped up. “You’re hardly an effective blockade. I could just shadow step past you and go after my real quarry.”

“They aren’t here!” Garnet replied. “You have no idea where they’ve gone!”

“Won’t you tell me?” Another breeze blew.

“I’ll never tell you, you might as well shatter me.”

“Oh Garnet,” she chuckled, “you already have. Look at your arm.”

With horror Garnet looked. Unbidden by her, her arm pointed directly at the grate she had sent Steven and Connie through.

“It’s a simple conceptual trick, though I’m sure you still wouldn’t understand.” She drew in her fist again. Spears erupted from Garnet’s shadow, impaling her limbs, body and head, knocking off her shades. “Look on the bright side, I’m not shattering Ruby.”

Two gems hit the floor.

Roxillan casually strolled toward the remaining gem.

Pearl raised her spear to Roxillan’s throat, the steely gaze of a warrior piercing out.

Roxillan stepped back before Pearl could run her weapon through. “Are you going to cry? Sing a sad song perhaps?”

“I’m going to kill you.” Pearl replied coldly.

“A petty threat against someone who doesn’t fear death.” She crossed her spear with Pearl’s.

Pearl swept her weapon. Roxillan misjudged her opponent’s speed and by the time her weapon was raised it was too late.

Roxillan shadow stepped to the other side of the room shrieking in pain and horror. “You! You dare-! I-! My-!” She clutched the side of her head where her ear had been. Black blood stained her silver hair. Her furious screams called to mind the most rabid of beasts.

“I’m going to kill you.” Pearl repeated. “And before I do that, I’m going to make you as ugly on the outside as you are on the inside.”

Roxillan paused as if she had noticed something, and immediately regained composure. She saw that Pearl was lining up to fire at her again so stepped behind a pedestal, leaning on it with all the relaxed demeanour of somebody not taking cover against the gem who had just amputated their left ear. “You must be quite proud of Connie.”

Lasers hit the pedestal. “You keep her name out of your mouth!”

“I mean, an inferior being rightfully serving her diamond master, learning to fight, kill, and die for him… You must feel as though history is repeating itself.”

“You don’t understand them, you don’t understand at all. What they have, What Pink Diamond and I had, you will never have it and that is the only thing I pity you for!”

“Oh Pearl, I’m touched. But I have experienced the desire to breed before. I used to think about making my own, but now I think I’ll adopt.” Roxillan spoke over Pearl’s complaint. “You know, I was originally planning to shatter you, in fact I had the whole thing planned out. You and Amethyst would be used to keep my children in line, when one of them defies me I’d shatter one of you and hold the other hostage. I’d shatter Sapphire in front of Ruby, direct her anger towards Steven and suddenly we have an old friend they have to shatter to stay alive.”

“You’re a psychopath.”

“Sticks and stones Pearl.” Roxillan giggled, still leaning on the pedestal, back to the gem. “I don’t know why you’re so testy, I’m not going to shatter you anymore. I’m going to implant your stone into Connie’s forehead. I’m sure I could find a doctor who’d rather facilitate that than see her daughter torn apart. Perhaps some of your subservience will rub off on her. Imagine the Oedipus complex it would give Steven, staring at your stone whenever he fu-.”

The pedestal was cut at the base and fell like a great tree. Roxillan turned to see Pearl, shaking with unbridled rage. “Stay away from my children you bitch!”

Their spears clashed on the stump of the pedestal. Pearl shoved her opponent’s spear aside and sliced down, her spear passed through aether where Roxillan had been. She turned to block Roxillan as the kelmep reappeared behind her.

Pearl span to fend off her teleporting foe. The black mists of Roxillan’s shadow steps merged into a thick cloud, its smell a disorientating array of sickly-sweet perfume, melting plastic, and powdered graphite.

Roxillan begrudgingly knew that Pearl was the better fighter, she had the greater offensive technique. Roxillan’s assault, unflinching to flesh wounds, impossibly fast, and ever changing in direction, was honed to prevent Pearl from attacking, locking down her advantage and keeping her on the defensive.

The assault was pressed too closely for advanced tactics, just two spearmen tearing at each other like animals, one raging against a defensive perimeter, the other stalwartly holding them back, leaving only scratches on rare occasions.

After whole minutes of fighting, the defender inevitably slipped. Roxillan impaled Pearl through the chest. Pearl’s spear hit the floor where it dissipated into sparks.

Roxillan’s eyes scanned down to the gem’s stomach to the paper band. “Longinyer rinner. This is Meygareath’s work, and it’s made specifically for you. How is the Papersmith?”

Pearl gave only a shaky breath in response.

Roxillan took the band of armament despite the gem’s resistance. “She must have known your body was too resilient to benefit. Perhaps she thought her love would protect you. I always suspected her of being a degenerate like you.”

“She…”

The kelmep perked up as if she had just realised something. “Oh, I suppose Connie must have one of these too. Well, I assure you I won’t have any trouble piercing it.”

Pearl raised her fist and landed a final defiant strike across Roxillan’s face before destabilising.

Roxillan picked up her ovular stone with her slender silver fingers and spat black blood upon it.


	6. The Rose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxillan’s victory over the gems is one stage in much greater plan. She gathers her guards and informs them of their next steps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Bad language and mistreatment of underlings.

The elevator opened once again. Out marched a dozen quartzes followed by Roxillan’s pearls. Though the gems were all devoid of colour due to White Diamond’s influence, each quartz was of their own strain, as Roxillan had requested.

“Where were you?” Roxillan shrieked at the platoon. In one hand she held the gems she had just defeated, in the other she held her severed ear.

“We’re sorry your Grace!” Prasiolite, one of the quartzes exclaimed. “We waited until you sent the signal, like you said!”

“You waited until I sent the signal electronically? What part of me screaming bloody murder wasn’t a signal!?”

“I-.”

Roxillan raised her hand to silence her subordinate. “Never mind. Pearl, the medical kit!”

“Yes, your Grace!” Blue Pearl drew a small device from her gem and ran to her duchess’ aid.

At the same time Roxillan directed Prasiolite to position herself on all fours before her. Roxillan sat upon the quartz’s back as Blue Pearl set about stitching her ear back on with the device. The device injected nanotech which was meant to accelerate the healing process, it wasn’t as fast as Steven’s healing spit, but Roxillan’s ear would be as good as new in a day or so.

Roxillan took the time to speak to her troops. “Well, despite your incompetence, we have won.” She flashed the four stones between the fingers of her right hand. “With his family as leverage, Steven is ours! And with Steven, we have Connie”

The quartzes cheered.

“Speaking of, our first order of business is to find a suitable container so these gems don’t reform.”

The quartzes thought for a moment. “We could bubble them for you.” The amethyst offered.

Roxillan shook her head. “Not secure enough. Steven could teleport them to his home with only a tap on the top.”

“We could keep them in one of these vaults.” The milky quartz suggested.

“Not portable enough, I want access to them a moment’s notice.”

“I could keep them in my gem.” Yellow Pearl chimed in.

“What if you betray me?” Roxillan questioned, leaning forward as Blue Pearl had finished repairing her ear. “You wouldn’t be the first renegade Pearl.”

“I would never-!”

“What about this box?” Prasolite asked.

“What box?” Roxillan looked down to see a glass box, a matching lid attached by hinges, rise out of the floor. “Fucking Pebbles!” She exclaimed, shadow stepping a few feet away. “Quartz, search that box for potential threats!”

Prasolite got to her feet and investigated the box. She turned it over in her hands looking each face over carefully. She opened the lid and looked inside. “I think it’s just a box!” She declared.

Roxillan came back and took the box. “Very well.” She slipped her handful of gems into the container and handed it to Blue Pearl. “You may carry this for now. Don’t put it in you gem, I want to see them.” Roxillan turned back to her guards. “Now we must move on to the next stage of our plan. Steven and Connie are ours, but they aren’t here.”

“Where are they?” Amethyst asked.

Roxillan pointed her thumb to the grate. “They’re in the tunnels, every minute the trail gets colder.”

“Let’s go get them!” Milky Quartz exclaimed. She began to lead the others to the grate.

The mob came to a screeching halt a black spear pierced through Milky Quartz’s head. As the quartz’s stone hit the floor, the other’s saw Roxillan had suddenly appeared before them, her smile barely restraining her fury. “I’m sorry dearies, I seem to have forgotten, who’s in charge?”

“Y-You are.” The jasper replied.

“Oh yes, that’s right. So why then were you taking orders from her? Were you hoping to drag me down there, in the rubbish and filth?”

“N-No!” The onyx exclaimed. “We’ll do it for you! You stay here and do whatever you want!”

“Why thank you.” While she smiled, Roxillan menaced the quartzes with her spear. “Do you think you rock headed idiots have the brains between you to track through a labyrinth of tunnels?” She backed them back to their previous positions. “And if by some miracle you find them, do you honestly think you have any chance against a diamond?”

“N-No your grace.” Jasper capitulated.

“What should we do?” Asked Amethyst.

“I’m glad you asked.” Roxillan dismissed her weapon. “Who has my robanoid.”

“I do!” A quartz at the back exclaimed.

“Bring it here.”

The quartzes parted to allow a slightly shorter but heavier set quartz to get to the front. She carried a white metal sphere. “Here it is!”

Roxillan looked briefly at the quartz. “You didn’t try to desert me.”

“I didn’t want to drop the robanoid.”

“Thank you. You can put it down now.”

The quartz set the sphere gently on the floor, eight cylindrical legs extruded from it and the sphere rose slightly above them. “I don’t think I’ve seen a robanoid like this.” The quartz noted.

“It’s a pursuit robanoid, I designed it myself.”

“Wow! So it can take down a diamond?”

Roxillan smiled. “If we arm it correctly.”

“What does it need?”

“First, Pearl, the sword!”

Yellow Pearl approached. From her gem she drew a sheathed blade. Those gems alive during the Gem War recognised the weapon immediately, it was a replica of the terrible Rose Quartz’s sabre. Roxillan took the sword and magnetically stuck it to the side of the robanoid.

Next, Roxillan gave the top of the machine a kiss. The robanoid smoked black for a few moments as the kelmep developed a mental connection with it and set the black spindle within spinning.

Roxillan looked over her retinue. “Now for the final touch. Which of you is a rose quartz?”

The quartzes looked among each other fearfully. Eventually Onyx got the courage to speak up. “None of us, your Grace.”

“What?” Roxilan pointed a spear into Onyx’s throat. “I specifically requested a rose quartz!”

“There aren’t any! Please!” Onyx begged.

After a moment, Roxillan lowered her spear. “Explain.”

“All the rose quartzes are bubbled at the human zoo. White Diamond hasn’t spread her radiance there yet.”

“I see.” Roxillan’s spear vanished. “Are any of your natural colours pink at least?”

She received many head shakes in return.

“Red?” She growled frustratedly.

“I-I am.” The quartz who had been carrying the robanoid admitted timidly.

“You? My most loyal soldier!” She cooed, suddenly much happier. “Of course, you wouldn’t fail me!”

“H-Happy to be of service your Grace.”

“Of course.” She put a hand on the quartz’s shoulder. “What’s your name?”

“Carnelian, Facet 5B8K Cut 6HB!”

“I see. Now Carnelian, may I see your weapon?”

“Of course, you Grace!” From the gem on her thigh, Carnelian drew a halberd.

“My my, I knew there was a reason I liked you.”

“Thank you, your Grace. Was there something you wanted me to do?”

“Yes dearie. Destabilise yourself.”

“Y-Your Grace?” Carnelian stammered.

“Was I not clear?” Roxillan smiled. “I want you to take your weapon and run yourself through.”

“D-Did I do something wrong?”

“No.”

“Then why?”

“Because I ordered you to.”

“Y-Yes your Grace.” With one last hesitation, Carnelian turned her weapon on herself and thrust the point into her chest.

Roxillan dispassionately caught the now red gem as the light body lost cohesion. She held it up to the light. “It will need some work, but it will do.”

The kelmep held the stone close to her chest and began to dance elegantly around the room. Quietly, she began to sing:

_Some say love, it is a river, that drowns the tender reed_

_Some say love, it is a razor, that leaves your soul to bleed_

_Some say love, it is a hunger, an endless aching need_

_I say love, it is a flower, and you, its only seed_

Her voice grew louder as a gentle wind danced with her, keening through her fingers to skim over the stone she held so tight.

_It’s the heart afraid of breaking, that never learns to dance_

_It’s the dream afraid of waking, that never takes the chance_

_It’s the one who won’t be taken, who cannot seem to give_

_And the soul afraid of dying, that never learns to live_

Roxillan danced slowly toward the waiting robanoid. The machine’s top seemed to split into four and open to reveal a flat face with a gem-shaped socket.

_When the night has been too lonely and the road has been too long_

_And you think that love is only for the lucky and the strong_

_Just remember in the winter, far beneath the bitter snows_

She held out the now pink gem and placed it in the socket. Small hooks flipped into place to hold it.

_Lies the seed, that with the sun's love in the spring becomes the rose_

The robanoid shifted position. The legs paired up, producing four two segment limbs. The robanoid stood on only two of these extended limbs, giving it a vaguely humanoid look. The “arms” rested high above the spherical body making the gem seem to rest at the mechanical amalgam’s “stomach” area and the sword rested at its “hip”.

“Off you go.” Roxillan commanded.

The robanoid opened the grate and leapt down the shaft.

Roxillan turned. “Let’s go.”

“W-Where are we going your Grace?” Yellow Pearl asked, still stunned by the display.

“The solar plant.”

“The solar plant?”

“They have my heart and need a place to destroy it, where else would they go?” Roxillan turned to the Quartzes. “Bring me that rouge quartz, I want her shattered.”

The quartzes searched the area around where Roxillan had poofed Milky Quartz. After a few moments Amethyst called out. “She’s not here! She was here just a second ago!”

“Fucking pebbles.” Roxillan growled. “Alright, one rouge quartz isn’t going to wreck our plans, we’re going!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art by peculiarstarstruck (https://peculiarstarstruck.tumblr.com/). Give them a look!


	7. Taking the Arm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pilot, Peridot, Lapis, and Bismuth have caught wind to what’s happening on board White’s ship. To give Mighty Spark the best chance they can, they have resolved to rip Homeworld’s flagship apart. With Pilot’s mastery of air combat, they have White on the ropes. Once again White Diamond knows how to get things back in her favor.

Pilot pulled up on a stick as he flew his ship up the back of the diamond’s larger vessel.

Axia fired the ship’s railguns into the enemy’s armour.

It had been too long, both of them knew it. Mighty Spark and the diamonds had boarded the ship several minutes ago and none of the communications sent to them had been answered.

Pilot tried again. “This is Pilot to the inside team, come in! Yellow, come in! Blue, come in! Mighty Spark, dad, come in!”

Silence filled the bridge.

After a few moments Blue’s voice came through. “Blue here. We’ve dealt with White, it’s safe to come aboard now.”

Pilot saw the gems flying around the Diamond ship with him slow. “Keep going!” Pilot called. “It’s a trick! Blue knew it wasn’t our plan to board. Where are they White?”

From Blue’s earpiece came White Diamond’s voice. “Very perceptive. Blue and Yellow are right beside me, where they should be. As for the human, it has been destroyed.”

Pilot was silent. His ship slowed to a stop staring down the larger ship’s remaining eye.

“Pilot…” Peridot messaged apologetically.

Pilot pursed his lips, trying to hold his emotions back.

“Pilot I’m sorry about your dad,” Bismuth called, “but if we don’t keep fighting his sacrifice will be for nothing!”

The dam broke. Pilot burst out in hysterics. He accelerated his ship into evasive manoeuvres.

“Is your ally’s death funny to you?” White questioned.

Pilot managed to get his laughter under control for a moment. “That was! The most! Barefaced! Lie! I’ve ever heard!”

“Denial won’t bring them back.” Said White.

“Oh really?” Pilot asked smugly. “Who’s Yellow and Blue firing at? You think I can’t hear them in the background?”

In White’s silence, everyone else could hear the lightning, lasers, and thunderous blows that signalled that the battle inside was still far from over.

“And since you were so desperate to make us believe my dad is dead, I’m guessing you’ve figured out you should be scared.”

“Do you truly think a human could overpower three diamonds!” White scoffed.

“Of course not!” Pilot grinned. Suddenly his tone became more serious. “But why don’t you just ignore him? See what happens when you dedicate an iota of your energy somewhere else.” Pilot addressed his fellow fighters. “White can’t afford to divide her attention and she knows it! Let’s make her choose; her or her ship? Let’s tear this thing apart!” He shut White out of the conversation.

The gems and Pilot split up, spiralling around the ship, striking where they could.

“The armour’s too thick!” Lapis exclaimed. “Bismuth and I are only scratching it! How about you Pilot?”

Pilot glanced back at the mostly cosmetic divots his railguns had made. “I’m not doing much better! Bismuth! Peridot! You guys know gem construction! Any potential weak spots?”

A second later Peridot spoke up. “The connective bolts that hold the ships together aren’t as well armoured…”

“But?”

“They’re internal.” Bismuth explained.

“So we need to pry apart the ships then hit them?”

“Pretty much.” Peridot confirmed.

“Alright then!”

“Wait!” Bismuth exclaimed. “If we get that close to the joints, White will just brush or shoot us off!”

“Right!” Pilot exclaimed. He cruised his ship close to Peridot. “Peridot, take this!” He opened his ships back door and tossed out a metal keg with wires attached to the top.

Peridot took hold of the keg with her powers. “What am I meant to do with this?”

“Keep it hovering near White’s face and stay well away! I’ll do the rest!”

Peridot flew up to the face of White Diamond’s ship before rapidly ascending, leaving the keg hovering in White’s blind spot.

“Now for some acting.” Pilot switched on the communication to the Diamonds. “I-I’m having some engine trouble guys; I’m running out of fuel!” His ship slowed and accelerated randomly.

White rose to the bait. Her ship’s yellow arm swept up to grab the smaller ship as it jerked and listed toward the white face.

Just before he was caught, Pilot’s ship dove at full speed and the keg detonated. Viscous grey fluid burst out and the hand stuck fast over the ship’s functioning eye.

“What was that?” Lapis exclaimed.

“Glue bomb!” Pilot explained. “It won’t hold, lets go for the left shoulder!”

Lapis and Bismuth landed on the joint between White and Blue Diamond’s ships and heaved. A tiny gap appeared. “We cant pull much harder!”

“Peridot, can you use your powers to help them?” Pilot asked.

“I’ve never used them on something so big!” Peridot retorted.

“It only has to be pushed a few inches! It’s worth a try!”

Peridot pointed her arms down and strained, sweat formed on her forehead as she put all she could into separating the titanic metal structures.

There was a creek as the arm budged by an inch. It slid another and one more.

“Almost enough.” Called Pilot.

Bismuth pushed, Lapis pulled, and Peridot worked her powers to their very limit. The gap widened by half an inch more. Deep within, Axia saw the connective bolt. With her computer accuracy she lined up the railgun.

She alerted the others. “I don’t know how explosive this could be, on the count of three I need you all to get out of there.”

“Alright.” Lapis confirmed.

“Hurry!” Bismuth groaned.

“I- I can’t do this much longer!” Peridot gasped.

Axia counted. “One, two, three!”

As Bismuth jumped and the other two gems dove to catch her, Axia fired a single round into the gap. Though the gap closed fast, the inert slug flew faster, passing through the central bolt as if it were tin foil. With a cacophonous blast the ship’s blue arm fell to the ground below.

“Wahoo!” Cried Bismuth, hanging from the underside of Peridot’s lid. “What now? Go for the other arm?”

“I think I need a few minutes!” Peridot panted.

“We can probably afford to pull back for a while.” Pilot suggested. “We’ll come back when White’s guard is d-.” He stopped. Something was wrong.

Suddenly the detached arm reanimated. It rose, interposing itself between Pilot, his allies, and its central ship.

Pilot turned his ship around to flee the blue palm before him when it burst open with white light. White Diamond had fired her ship’s remaining eye laser, piercing both of its hands to strike Pilot down.

Pilot’s ship span toward the crystal spires of Homeworld. He pulled at the main thruster’s controls to no avail. There was no thruster to respond. A moment later, everything went black.

Pilot heard voices. “Pilot! Do you copy?” He recognised Bismuth.

“Can you hear me!?” Peridot’s familiar shriek.

“Are you ok?” Pilot heard Lapis ask.

“Pilot!” He couldn’t mistake that voice. “Please wake up! My baby!” He could tell despite her frantic terror.

“Can’t you see my vitals? I’m fine mum.” He opened his eyes to find himself crumpled against the far wall. Axia’s drone flew back and forth, two fires igniting for every one she extinguished. The flames flickered blue from the warp energy irradiating them.

“Oh my goodness, don’t scare me like that.” Axia gasped shakily.

Pilot stood himself up and staggered to the helm. He tasted blood, he must have split his lip a bit in the crash. He applied some sutures. He activated the comms. “I’m alive. Keep going.”

“Oh, thank the stars!” Peridot gasped.

“Got ya!” Bismuth replied.

Pilot checked his ship’s diagnostics on a glitching screen. The ship wasn’t going anywhere, he was grounded. He noticed on the communications log that White was still listening in. Slightly worried, Pilot cycled through the ship’s external cameras until he found one that was neither broken beyond use nor observing rubble. It showed White’s ship in the relatively far distance searching out Pilot’s allies, it showed no intention of following up on its strike. “Awfully chivalrous to not go after a downed man White. What gives?”

“My Silver Starlight informed me of your capabilities.” White Diamond responded authoritatively. “All your abilities are purely mental. Without your ship, you are no longer a threat.”

“Cheeky bugger.” He chuckled back.

“A patrol of quartz soldiers will be collecting you for her shortly.” The Diamond informed him. “Don’t bother resisting, you’ll only hurt yourself.”

Pilot smiled. “Well, as the Sapphire said to the Ruby,” he snickered at his own joke, “I hope you don’t expect me to come quietly!” He shut the diamond’s comms off.

An alarm caught Pilot’s attention. “Fire is spreading and has taken almost all the engine room.” Axia explained. “There isn’t long until the ship is uninhabitable.”

“Right.” Pilot looked around at the flames slowly consuming the ship he called home for the better half of his life. His breath trembled as his jokes burnt away with it. He grabbed what looked like a mailbox duct taped to wires and transistors with a tiny satellite dish soldered to the flag. He placed it near the door before returning to the centre of the blazing room.

“Where are you going?” Axia barked. “You need to evacuate!”

“I will, I just have to do something first.” Pilot explained as calmly as possible. He took out a business card. “Can you call this number for me mum?”

“Alright, but hurry!” Axia dialled the number into his suit’s phone.

After a few moments Pilot got through to his intended recipient. “Hello! Is this Mister Heartberry's R&D? Is Mr. Heartberry available? ...Huh? Oh! I didn't see the plus sign! You must be Heartberry! I know this is short notice, but I got your card from... I don't actually remember... Anyway, you are the only company I've heard of that lists personally fuelled warp ships on their work list.” He opened his mouth in surprise, managing to smile a bit. "R-really, you sound so adult! I-I'd love to chat but-,"

At the helm, the display exploded in a shower of sparks.

"My ship's been damaged.” Pilot explained. “It's a small explorer class, dimensional transcendental interior with all rooms beside the helm being positionally uncertain. It's been hit, left main thruster has been destroyed engine critically unstable." He nodded down the phone line. “Still in a battle. I-I can send it to you, do you have somewhere it can be deposited? a fire crew might be a good idea. Thanks, I'll send it in a minute. I just have to get something." Pilot crouched down and opened the hatch to the engine room.

Blue flames erupted from the room below. The inferno was so omnipresent that Pilot could barely see the glowing hot ladder. He put a toe over the edge and pulled up his hood and balaclava to protect his head and face from the flames as best he could.

Realising what he was about to do, Axia screamed. "Pilot, the heat could kill you! The engine room's current temperature is-!"

“I’m not leaving you!” Pilot roared back, tears in his eyes. He lowered his voice for the person down the line. “I’ll be right back.” He hung up the phone and leapt into the conflagration.

Axia’s drone followed, dispensing fire retardant to cleave a path.

Pilot ran into the flames, past his burning hammock and the dieing engines to a bank of servers. He found the central server and removed a panel, in amongst a maze of wiring sat a perfectly smooth oblong ball shaped circuit board, no larger than an egg, Axia’s CPU. He reached for it.

“Wait!” Axia warned him. “If you remove me from the ship’s computer bank, the comms system will go down.”

With a nod, Pilot opened up his comms to everyone apart from White Diamond to give a final message. “Hi everyone! If you haven’t heard, I’ve crashed. Me and Axia are gonna go find another ship to get us all off planet should anything else go wrong. Unfortunately, that means the comms are gonna go down once I stop talking. Steven, Connie, I still have my mobile on me so call me if you need me, I tinkered with your phones a while back to give you universal coverage. I wanted to surprise you. Everyone else, Axia will hack into Homeworld’s power grid and send a signal when we get the opportunity. Good luck everyone, stay safe, Chorus preserve you.” With that he pulled out his mother’s CPU.

Axia’s drone fell lifelessly to the ground as Pilot sprinted past, leaping up the ladder. He rolled on the floor to extinguish the flames that had found purchase on his clothes. As he stood up, he slid Axia’s CPU under his clothes, down the back of his shirt. He slotted it into a part of his warp suit between his shoulder blades.

Axia’s voice was welcome in his ears. “Pilot! Are you hurt?”

“I’ll live.” He replied. He headed to the door and picked up the mailbox, tucking it under one arm. “How about you.”

“Don’t worry about me.”

“Alright. What about your systems? I know comms is down, but what about weapons.”

“I don’t have access.”

“Wireless hacking?”

“Not without my servers.”

“DED hacking?” He asked flourishing one of the darts Bismuth had made for him.

“Perhaps.” Axia replied. “I’ll need a DED chip.”

Pilot put his dart away and dropped a chip down the back of his shirt.

“That’s done it!” Axia declared.

“Let’s get out of here.” Pilot pulled the lever to manually release the door.


	8. Robanoid Pursuer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Down in the hidden passages, in Homeworld’s darkest depths, Steven and Connie are alone. Well, they thought they were, back the way they came the voice of Roxillan calls to them. It seems she’s going to be their new mother, weather they want her to be or not.

Steven pressed furiously on his unresponsive earpiece as Pilot’s final message cut out. “Pilot? Are you hurt? Is Axia ok?”

No response. His earpiece was dead, as was Connie’s.

They checked their phones, as Pilot had suggested, the symbol of their mobile providers had been replaced by his wavy line. Unfortunately, it seemed being as deep underground as they were still somehow diminished their signal. Neither of them had any bars.

Steven and Connie looked to each other, both waiting for the other to say something. After falling down the inky dark shaft with a bubble to protect themselves from whatever was at the bottom, they had landed in something which resembled a (thankfully empty) open topped dumpster with four spider-like legs supporting it.

They’d hopped out to find themselves in a dimly lit corridor. Unlike the spotless facade above ground, the corridor was dusty and unpolished, scrap and garbage that had fell out of dumpsters was left where it had landed, the place barely held together. The corridor was mostly empty save for occasional robo-dumpsters siting under waste shafts and the errant pieces of trash.

Not really knowing where they were supposed to go, Steven and Connie had picked a direction at random and started walking. A few minutes later their earpieces had come to life with Pilot explaining how he had crashed and how the comms would be down while he and Axia went looking for a new ship to escape on.

Now they stared at each other, they had no link to the world outside the claustrophobic labyrinth they were in, no knowledge of how the others were faring, and nobody to call for help or advice. They were reliant on each other, and unlike the jungle moon, this territory was actively hostile.

Both waited for the other to present a plan, both feared the responsibility.

“S-Should we go back?” Steven postulated.

“To the treasury?” Asked Connie.

“Yeah.”

Connie thought for a moment. “N-No.”

“No?”

“No.” She repeated more confidently. “Even if we could find our way back and climb up that shaft. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl have fled across the rooftops to cause a distraction. The only people waiting for us would be White’s soldiers.”

“Right.” Steven agreed. “So what should we do?”

“Well we can’t go back,” Connie speculated, “and doing nothing won’t help anyone. We’ll have to keep going, find something to destroy the spindle with.”

“How do we do that?”

Connie looked around, focusing her perception on her environment. “What about these scratches on the floor?”

Steven looked closely, utilising the mental abilities Pilot taught him as well. “They look like they were made by the legs of those dumpster things. Tracks?”

“My thoughts exactly.” Connie smiled. “If Homeworld throws all their trash down here into these dumpsters, they have to get rid of it somehow. Maybe they have an incinerator?”

“Connie, that’s brilliant!”

They raised their hands to high five when the clunk of something heavy landing in one of the dumpsters echoed from back the way they came.

“What was that?” Connie asked quietly.

From the same direction came a voice that chilled the pair. “Steven? Connie?”

“Roxillan!” Connie whispered, unfurling her sabre. She turned to face the voice, blade raised over her head solemnly.

“What are you doing?” Steven hissed.

“We can take her.”

“She clearly doesn’t think so.” Steven argued. “She wants us to come and fight her, that’s why she’s calling.”

“But-.“

“We’ll fight her if we have to but for now let’s run!” He grabbed his girlfriend by the arm and dragged her away with him.

As the fled they heard her again, closer this time. “Come say hello to your new mother!”

The words made Connie’s skin crawl. Her bravado left her as the tiny glimpses into Roxillan’s twisted psyche wormed their way out of her speech. She stopped struggling against her boyfriend and ran with him.

They ran the dim halls, choosing odd directions and bolting down sharp turns to try and throw their pursuer off. But again, and again they heard Roxillan’s voice sticking to them like glue and closing in.

“This place is a maze!” Connie whispered. “How can she possibly know which way we are going?”

Steven glanced backwards, half expecting to see the deranged kelmep at their heels. “Footprints!” He realised. “We’re leaving footprints in the dust!”

Connie looked back and realised he was right. “What do we do? We can’t fly! And we definitely can’t stop running!”

“I have an idea. Stop here!” Steven caught his girlfriend and stopped in a crossroads.

“She’s gonna catch up to us.” Connie hissed. “What are you doing?”

With his feet, Steven swept a way a small circle of dirt around himself. He grabbed Connie and held her in a bridal carry. “Hold on.”

With that, the boy leapt down the left side passageway landing them silently, thanks to his floating powers, in a distant dumpster.

The pair hid silently as footsteps echoed.

_Click clack, click clack._

It didn’t sound like the slap of trainers or stomp of boots, Steven and Connie were not yet experts in the sounds different shoes made but their best guess was high heels.

The footsteps stopped at the crossroads Steven had jumped from. “You can’t be scared of little old me?” Roxillan’s voice called.

The steps grew incrementally more distant. The children considered breaking cover and running.

Suddenly, the steps neared again, getting closer and closer.

Steven and Connie froze, daring not to even breathe as their pursuer approached their hiding place.

Connie took out her gladius.

Steven stared at her.

Connie nodded upwards, silently suggesting they leap out and strike.

Steven shook his head in disbelief, it wasn’t worth the risk.

Connie glared at him commandingly. “Don’t chicken out on me now!” Her eyes seemed to say.

His eyes answered with a fearful stare. “Please just hide with me!” Was their message. “Something isn’t right, I’m worried about you!”

Their pursuer’s steps turned and went back the way they came. Connie scowled at her boyfriend, cross that her opportunity was squandered.

Her scowl broke when the hounding voice of Roxillan was replaced with another. “Steven?”

Steven knew that voice, a voice he had never heard in person but one he had listened to over and over again on nights his longing to know her was particularly strong. He could almost hear the voice follow up his name with, “We can’t both exist. I’m going to become half of you.”

Connie saw her rapidly paling boyfriend and covered his mouth to keep him from audibly gasping.

Steven reached for his gem, making sure it was still firmly in his navel. It was.

After the longest minutes of their lives the steps resumed, walking down the opposite passage until they faded into inaudibility.

a couple of minutes later Connie risked peaking over the dumpster’s lip. She saw no sign of her. “She’s gone.”

“That was close.” Steven sighed. Standing up with her.

Her head jerked in his direction. “Close?” She snapped, hopping out of the dumpster in disgust of him. “If you hadn’t chickened out, I would have had her! I could have stabbed her in the neck and we’d be rid of her for a day at least!”

“You were going to kill her?” Steven leapt out of the dumpster to follow Connie as she stomped off ahead.

“What else was I supposed to do?”

“You promised Pilot you wouldn’t!”

A pang of guilt crossed Connie’s conscience. “I… Pilot doesn’t have to know.”

“You want to lie to him?”

Connie kept walking, not looking him in the eye. “No- I mean, why shouldn’t I? He lies to us!”

Steven ran around in front of her. “Connie, you’re scaring me!”

“Why?”

“You’re acting weird! None of this is like you!” He held her shoulders. “It’s the heart, the black spindle! It’s making you like this. Give it to me!”

Connie twisted free of his grip and took a step back. “And why do you want it?”

“Why do you want to keep it! It’s messing with your head and I’m worried about you!” He held out his hand pleadingly. “Please Connie. Strawberry?”

Shaking, Connie reached into her pocket and pulled out the bubbled spindle. Faltering with every inch, she held out her hand and placed the accursed object in Steven’s hand. As her fingers peeled off the bubble, a weight lifted.

Her eyelids fluttered with recognition. “Steven…” Suddenly she sprung upon him holding in a tight embrace. “Oh Steven, I’m so sorry!”

She kissed him twice on each cheek before registering his expression.

“Was this thing saying all this horrible stuff to you?” He murmured.

“Y-Yes.”

He put the bubble in his back pocket and hugged her tightly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Connie felt a wetness on her shirt as Steven cried into her shoulder.

For five minutes, they stood there, holding each other, repairing the damage Roxillan’s heart had wrought.

Eventually Steven looked up. “We should go before Roxillan comes back.”

“Yeah.” Hand in hand, the pair continued through the sprawling maze of hallways.


	9. Emerald's Citadel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pilot steps out of his burning ship to find himself in a ruined penthouse at the top of one of Homeworld’s towers. Pilot and Axia have to get their ship to safety and get out of there. They seem to have disturbed the penthouse’s resident however.

Pilot stepped out of his burning ship with Axia incorporated into his suit and a mailbox-like device under his arm. The room he was in was constructed of green crystalline material. He looked up at the largely demolished ceiling and walls, it appeared he had crashed into the top of the building bringing much of the highest floor’s structure down with him. Walking around the ship, he saw the rest of the room. Though mostly buried in rubble, he could make out the stumps of walls that partitioned the floor into rooms, as well as cracked war tables, what may have been a computer, and a throne.

Pilot started walking away from the wreck. “Mum, call them back. Make sure they are ready to receive.”

“Yes Pilot.”

A few metres away Pilot stopped, putting the mailbox down. “Hold on.” He turned to a pile of rubble, primed to leap in any direction.

As chunks of masonry tumbled away, a shock of wild white hair was revealed. The gem pushed the rubble aside, a square gem in the place of her right eye gleamed colourlessly beneath a tiara. A ruff and pair of large, rectangular epaulets distinguished the great strength her lithe, dexterous arms belied. As she stood at her full height, almost twice that of Pilot’s, her thigh high armoured boot stepped easily out of the debris that had buried her pale body. They stood ten paces apart. She opened her mouth to spit a warning at him. “Pilot...”

“Emerald?” Pilot smiled.

Emerald’s face fell. “How do you know me?”

“Steven told me about how you shot my apprentice out of the sky.” He reminisced, as if talking about local gossip with a friend. “Not particularly happy about that by the way.” He wagged his finger at her confused expression. “How about you though? You look different to how I imagined you, less green.”

“White Diamond and the Silver Duchess have cleansed me of my flaws.” She raised her arms in reverent imitation of White Diamond’s favoured pose.

“What a nice way to say brainwashed.” Pilot replied. “Now if you don’t mind, I was about to make a phone call, could I have some privacy?”

Emerald shifted to leave before remembering herself. “Wait. No!” She barked. “I have captured you in my citadel, you will wait for transfer.”

Pilot’s tone, though still casually conversational became a touch more malicious. “Wow, everything you just said was wrong. Incredible!”

“What?”

“Well, I have no intention of sticking around to be captured, your citadel is pretty much destroyed, and you haven’t really captured me.” He peered around the ruins. “not much in the way of walls, I could just run.”

“But you won’t.” She pointed to Pilot’s craft. “You love that ship, it’s your ‘best friend’! You wouldn’t leave it alone with me!”

Pilot chuckled.

“What’s so funny?”

“You borrowed that from a human.” Pilot smirked. He locked her eye, still smiling. “If you understood that phrase, you’d be scared. That ship is my whole life and it’s going up in flames. I don’t have time to be your prisoner or to run away. So back down before I beat you down!”

Emerald grinned wickedly “Ha! You think you can beat me?” She exclaimed. “A pebble like you?” She reached for her gem, drawing forth a rapier, the tip crackling with electricity. “Gemkind is the superior species and I am an exemplar of my kind! My victory would be assured!”

“Well,” Pilot nodded mock-thoughtfully, “that would be true if I didn’t have this!” He raised his hand to reveal a small metal canister, about the size of a drink can.

A bolt of lightning from Emerald’s sword struck Pilot hand, sending the canister flying off to the left. Its liquid contents splashed across the front of his ship.

“Ow.” He held his slightly singed hand.

Like another bolt of lightning Emerald sped over to loom over her opponent. “Now what?” She pointed her weapon in her opponent’s face.

“Now I’ve won.”

Emerald took a few moments to process his response. She had been expecting it to be longer, begging for his life, attempting to fan her ego, that sort of thing. His short blatant lie enraged her. “What!?” She screamed. “I have you right where I want you! If you move I will destabilise you!”

“You can’t destabilise a kelmep.” Pilot interrupted. “We don’t wuss out into magic rocks for a week whenever we get a papercut.”

“Then I’ll hit you until you stop moving!” She shouted over him. “In any case, how is any of this you winning!?”

In a fraction of a second, Pilot clapped his hands across Emeralds blade. It broke cleanly into three pieces, leaving Emerald with a blunt hilt. “Like that.”

Emerald stepped back in shock.

“Sorry that took so long, I was estimating the density of your toast sticker.”

She drew another sword, sweeping it downward in fury. “You won’t do that again!”

Again, Pilot broke her sword. He followed up with a punch to the gut.

Emerald barely shifted as her grimace became a cruel smirk. She picked up Pilot by his hood and lifted him to her level. “Is that the hardest you can hit?” She goaded. “You pathetic excuse for a-.”

Pilot kicked her in the eye.

In pain, she dropped him. “Ahh! You dirty clod! My vision sphere!” She drew yet another rapier as she searched the area for where he had escaped to.

Pilot kicked the back of her leg to little effect, drawing her attention and her blade. Again it broke.

“Did anyone ever tell you the definition of insanity?” Pilot asked, snapping another sword.

“When a weakling like you thinks they can defeat me!” Emerald leapt back and aimed a new sword at Pilot, preparing to blast him with lightning.

Pilot kicked a piece of sword at Emerald’s face. On reflex she willed it away, the shard burst into harmless sparks before it could cut her. Emerald’s triumphant grin left quickly as the sparks dispersed to reveal Pilot’s fist as it hurtled into her still stinging eye.

“How dare you!?” She clutched her eye.

“Can you see out of your gem or are you swinging blind right now?” Pilot asked, skirting around the edge of his enemy’s reach.

The gem growled angrily and started stabbing wildly.

“Touchy subject?” Pilot provoked, dancing around the thrusts. “Do the other emeralds bully you about it?”

“Shut up!”

“Do you hear the words ‘depth perception’ a lot?”

“You have no right to talk this way to me!”

“You know I heard about this ruby with a similar gem placement. Do you guys go to a support group?”

“What!?”

“Can you predict the future like a sapphire? Hey Sapphire! Can you foresee me kicking your ass?”

“No!”

“Hey, you and that ruby I mentioned should fuse so you can find out what parallax is like.”

“You’re so annoying!”

“Ok, I’m running out of quips.” Pilot stated. “Um… You only have one eye madam.”

Emerald dismissed her rapier with a scream of unlimited rage. She raised her hands, spread like claws. “I’m going to crush you!” She realised he was out of sight. “Where? Where are you!?”

She felt a slap on her rear. She turned to see him a few strides away waving mockingly. “Come get me bitch.” He turned and ran.

She charged after him, her hands hovering in front of her, lined up to wrap around his scrawny neck. She kept on him as he took twists and turns seemingly at random. As her fingers grazed a solid surface, she wrapped her hands around and squeezed.

She realised the item she was holding was not her quarry’s throat. She was looking upon Pilots ship, she glanced down to her hands to see them wrapped around the base of one of its railguns with her stomach against the muzzle. She attempted to let go but her hands were stuck fast. She tried to move her body away from the cannon to find her feet were stuck too. “What? What is the meaning of this?”

“You remember the canister you shot out of my hand?” Pilot asked. He stood a little way to the side of the gem, his voice devoid of its prior mirth. “Travel size glue bomb, I made it to stop charging quartzes.” In one hand he produced a small spritz bottle, in the other a dart.

“Release me!” Emerald demanded.

“Don’t worry, I have a solvent here.” He sprayed the soles of his trainers with the bottle before stepping up beside her, the solvent keeping him from sticking “The glue also disintegrates after an hour or so, though you won’t be here long enough to be concerned about that?” He threw a dart into the firing mechanism, it hummed back into life.

“You wouldn’t dare! You can’t do this!”

“Why not? It’s not like it’ll kill you.” Pilot addressed his mother. “Take the shot.”

Pilot gently caught the green gemstone as the body it was attached to was ripped apart by a fist sized metal slug.

He turned and walked away. “Let’s try that again.”

“Calling them now.” Axia responded.

Behind Pilot the fire escaped the ship’s interior and the exterior exploded into blue flames. Pilot whimpered like a wounded animal in response. Hearing the phone ringing in his ear, he used breathing exercises taught to him by Garnet to steel himself before speaking. “I’m sending it now.”

Pilot turned back to his ship, the sight of it stinging his eyes. He unfurled a finger in its direction and a portal wide enough to consume the ship opened beneath it.

Like a diving blue phoenix, the ship fell into the cavern below. Pilot stepped up to the portal’s rim and locked eyes with the recipient of his call. The sight of her momentarily stunned him with hope and fear in equal measure. He gestured to her phone and his ear to signal to continue the conversation, he didn’t feel he could shout. He nodded to what she had to say to him before giving instructions. “First, take this.” He kicked the mailbox into the portal. He took Emerald’s gem and tucked it into his jacket, bringing his hand out empty. “I don’t want to think about what White and Roxillan would do to her if they found out she failed them, I’m going to send any gems I beat to you since I can’t bubble them.”

As the woman on the other side agreed, Pilot’s eyes drifted his ship, the vessel he had escaped his world by, the place Mighty Spark and Axia had raised him, the enduring artifact that represented the generations of responsibility he held himself up to. “Now that that’s taken care of, be careful with that ship, it has twin Abraham class railguns, its spatially non-compliant inside, and… and…” Tears welled up in his eyes as the raw emotion within him caused his legs to give way. He fell to his knees sobbing. “It’s my home! Please don’t let it burn!” He curled inwards as the speaker comforted him. “Thank you.” He whispered. “Thank you.”

Suddenly Pilot looked up. He could hear a mob ascending the stairs towards him, quartzes by the sound. He got to his feet, wiping his tears away to put on the mask of a devil-may-care fool. He drew his finger in to close the portal. “I have to go, see you soon.” The hope the call gave him aided in his smile and his lifted spirits added levity to his voice. He was ready for his next performance. “Good afternoon ladies!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to E350 for the artwork on this chapter! find them here at https://archiveofourown.org/users/E350tb and od Deviant Art at https://www.deviantart.com/e350tb !


	10. Steven's Test

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having escaped their pursuer for now, Steven and Connie can concentrate on their mission, finding something to destroy the black spindle with. Connie has already overcome the heart’s influence, Steven has yet to face the challenge. Will a relic of past failure awaken a black-hearted monster, or will Connie’s love bring Steven back?

Steven and Connie continued to move through the dingy hallways, mostly in silence to not draw attention and to better hear if the sound of their hunter’s footsteps were to come back. After a period of time without signs of pursuit, the pair looked around for the scratches made by the robotic legs of the dumpsters they hoped would lead them to an incinerator.

At a crossroads they found a trail going from left to right. “Which way should we go?” Steven wondered aloud.

Connie looked from side to side. “Um… left?”

“Alright.”

The pair turned left to follow the tracks. After several minutes of walking down a twisting maze they saw the track’s maker. The legged dumpster was siting motionless, not by an incinerator but under a chute. “We went the wrong way!” Connie exclaimed, annoyed at herself.

“It’s alright Connie.” Steven assured her. “We can just turn around and go ba-.” Suddenly there was a clattering noise. Steven leaped into the dumpster, turning and holding his hand out to help Connie in. “It’s her! We have to hide!”

Connie didn’t take his hand. “Steven, it was just some trash falling into the dumpster down there.” She pointed down the hall to the offending dumpster. As if to prove her point, some more trash fell with almost the exact same sound. “We’re ok Steven.”

Steven nodded with a sigh of relief. “Right.” As his head tilted down, something in the dumpster with him caught his eye. “Huh?”

“What is it Steven?” His girlfriend asked.

“There’s something buried here.” He summoned his shield to sift trash aside.

“You know,” Connie chuckled, “digging through Homeworld’s trash with my boyfriend is not how I thought today would go.”

Steven chuckled along in the dumpster before suddenly stopping. “What the?”

Hearing the shift in her boyfriend’s tone of voice, Connie stopped giggling too. “Steven? Are you alright?”

“Y-Yeah.” He answered. “How is this?”

“What is it?”

“I… Stand back!”

Connie took a step away.

Steven picked up the item and hefted it out of the dumpster

Though she had never seen one in person, Connie recognised the weapon before it hit the ground. She recognised it from Steven’s telling of his first, and less than successful, encounter with Bismuth. “A breaking point…” She gasped.

“Not just _a_ breaking point.” Steven explained, jumping out after it. “That’s _the_ Breaking Point. The one Bismuth made, her prototype!”

“That’s impossible!” Connie exclaimed. “Maybe it’s a Homeworld copy? You destroyed the prototype!”

“I know!” Said Steven. “I threw it into the lava myself.” He picked the device up. “But it’s identical. Same colours, same weight, same leather straps.” He turned the device over. “Leather Connie! Where would Homeworld get cows!”

“Well, they are aliens.” Connie smirked, trying to defuse the situation with humour. “Maybe they came in on a flying saucer and-.” She stopped. “Steven, why are you putting the Breaking Point on?”

Steven looked down to properly notice he was arming himself. “Oh, well… it’s easier to carry around like this.”

“You want to take it with us?”

“Yeah, I think it would be a good idea”

“A-Alright.” Connie acquiesced hesitantly.

The pair moved on, the weapon dampening conversation.

“Can I see it?” The girl asked eventually.

Steven looked at her, suspicion burning quietly in his eyes. “See what?”

“The Breaking Point. Are you feeling alright Steven?”

Steven’s happy grin returned as he held out his hand to her. “Oh, yeah, sure!”

Connie inspected the device as they walked. “These straps are adjustable.” She noted.

“That’s right. Bismuth’s arms are much bigger than mine.” Steven grinned.

Connie visualised the gem’s large forearm. “You could probably carry this thing like a backpack.” She considered.

“Yeah, but I’d rather be ready at a moment’s notice.”

Connie slowed. “Ready?”

“Yeah?”

“Ready for what!?” She exclaimed, stopping in her tracks.

Steven took a few steps before registering her shocked tone. “I-It’s not like I’m looking forward to it, but we might have to… you know…” He made a jabbing motion with the Breaking Point.

“No,” She expressed with disbelief, “I don’t know. I have my sword and you have the powers of a diamond! When could we need to shatter anyone?”

“I… I don’t know…” He admitted, reaching for the weapon’s straps. He stopped, expression hardening. “What about White?”

“What about her!? We came here to save her from Roxillan!”

“What… What if she’s just as bad when she’s free? What if she’s worse? Yellow and Blue are scared of her, they don’t think she can be reasoned with. What if they’re right?”

“They aren’t, they don’t have what you have Steven.” Connie took a step forward to console him.

Steven took a step backwards, lip curled into a defensive snarl, fingers itching at the breaking point’s trigger.

In shock, Connie stopped. “B-Besides, it isn’t like you, you don’t hurt people like this.”

“Maybe it’s time I grew up.” Anger slowly snuck its way into Steven’s voice. “I’m the son of Pink Diamond, the gem who started this war. It’s time I ended it, it’s my destiny, whether I like it or not!” He let out a tortured, resolute sigh. “Now are you going to help serve my destiny like a sensible swordswoman or are you going to whine like a little girl?”

Connie paused in shock at Steven’s sudden turn around. “No…”

“No!?”

“No!” She berated him. “No I am not going to ‘serve’ you, I am not ‘whining’, this is not your ‘destiny’, and you haven’t ‘grown up’!”

Steven gaped at the tirade, too taken aback to retort.

“We are children in a warzone, and you are scared! Heck! I’m scared! We’re scared and you are listening to the wrong person for comfort! You’re listening to _her_!”

“H-Her?”

“Roxillan! Give me the spindle!” Connie held out her hand.

“No! Get away!” Steven backed away. His voice now trembling with fear, he gripped the object. “It hurt you! I can’t let it do that again!”

“It’s hurting you now!” Connie pleaded.

“I’m used to stuff hurting me, I’ll be fine!” He took the heart from his pocket and held it close to his chest.

“That’s not ok Steven! Please!” She made another grab for him.

He stepped from her grasp in rage. He raised the breaking point, the bolt on its back sliding out, priming it to fire. “I said get away from me huma-!” His fury was immediately replaced by confusion and panic. “Wh-? What are you doing Connie?”

Connie stood, arms open, eyes closed, tears welling under her eyelids. “If you’re going to do it, do it.”

“No, Connie, I, I didn’t-”

“I know the Steven I know would never hurt me, but I don’t know if that’s still you.”

“It is! Please!”

“Do what you have to for your ‘destiny’, but if my Biscuit is still in there, he’ll put the breaking point down and let go of the-“

There was a clatter as both object hit the floor at Connie’s feet. “Take them! Take them!” Steven sobbed. “I’m so sorry Connie!”

Immediately her arms were around him. “It’s ok! We’re alright! I’m just glad you’re back!”

“I-It’s not ok! I almost hurt you!”

“You could never hurt me Steven.” Connie replied, trying to soothe him as she cried herself. “It’s not in you. You aren’t a bad man Steven, you’re one of the best men I’ve ever met. You’re my boyfriend, and more importantly, my best friend.”

“You’re mine too. I’m so sorry.”

For a couple of minutes, they cried. Connie gripped Steven’s shirt. “Alright, alright, new rule, you listening?” She felt him nod against her shoulder. “Good. We’re going to switch who holds the heart as we go. Nobody holds it for more than five minutes, got it?”

“Yeah.” Replied Steven, backing out of the hug.

Connie picked up the bubbled heart and pocketed it. She returned to Steven, who now stood over the breaking point. “What should we do with this?” She considered.

“We can’t just leave it here. It’s too dangerous. What if Roxillan found it?” 

She couldn’t fault his reasoning, they had heard Roxillan in the tunnels and the last thing they wanted her to have was a portable shattering device. “We could take it with us?” She postulated. “Throw it in the incinerator with the black spindle?”

“Good idea.” Steven agreed. He made no move to pick it up. “C-Could you carry it?” He asked embarrassedly. “I don’t really want to even touch it again.”

“No problem.” Connie reached down and grabbed a handle. She tried to heft it and stopped. “Oh.”

“What is it?”

“Well Steven,” she gave him a little smile, “it seems you forgot to mention that this thing weighs the same as a small car.”

“Oh, sorry Connie!” He blushed, remembering his great strength. “I’ll carry it. I’m sorry for being a wuss!”

“No no! Don’t worry, let’s just destroy it here. Stand back Steven.” The wraps on Connie’s arm loosened and formed her two-handed sword, a long katana with a teal blade stiped with hair thin lines of silver and a hilt wrapped with silver with somehow star-shaped gaps through which the teal core peaked. The guard was also star-shaped, silver edged with gold, in many ways reminiscent of Stevonnie’s rapier except where that guard was cupped, this one was flat.

“Alright,” Steven nodded, standing back, “but Connie, can you cut that? It gotta be made of a really hard material to break diamond, right?”

“I’ve never tried.” With meditative grace, Connie gripped the katana in both hands and drew it around her, her mind reaching inside itself.

Connie opened her eyes to the reception room of the hospital her mother worked at. At the reception desk sat Pearl. As she approached, Connie recognised the spectacles and cream coloured blouse she knew the hospital’s actual receptionist to wear. “Hello Pearl.”

“Good afternoon Miss Maheswaran. What are you looking for today?”

“I’m looking for how I can cut the Breaking Point.”

“I see.” Pearl replied sceptically. She tapped on the computer for a few seconds. “As I thought, I’m afraid such a feat would be physically impossible for a human, much less for a girl your age.”

Taken aback, Connie shook her head. “That can’t be right! I know I can do it! I have to.”

Pearl gave Connie an analytical stare. “Ward on the right.”

“Wait, so it is possible?”

“No.” Pearl reiterated. “It is physically impossible and the way to do it is in the ward on the right.”

“How can it be here if it’s impossible?” Connie questioned.

“I said it was physically impossible,” a small smile played on Pearl’s lips. “I didn’t say you couldn’t do it.”

Connie gave a quizzical look.

“Now you should really get going, the face your making out there makes you look constipated.”

Confused, Connie turned back to the entrance. Instead of the parking lot she had been expecting she saw a sea of teal mist with silver shards swimming through it. She turned back, realising she was in her mind. “Well, see you later Pearl!” with that, Connie ran down the right-hand hall.


	11. The Pink Lion's Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie has a mission. She is going to scour her own mind in search of a way to destroy the Breaking Point. Such a feet is impossible of course, but that means it is a simple matter of defying the fundamental laws of physics. How can any being, let alone a human perform such a feat? Connie must draw her power from within.

As Connie turned the corner in the hospital, she saw the corridor lined with open doors that seemed to stretch on forever. “I should’ve asked Pearl which room it was in.” She turned back to see that the way she had come had been replaced by a dead end. “Ok, I guess I’ll try-.”

Suddenly a pink portal appeared a little way down the hall and a familiar pink beast hopped out.

“Lion?” She made her way towards him.

Lion glanced at her before walking into the door closest to him on the left.

Connie followed him in to find the room was a small medical ward. Lion was nowhere to be seen. In his place was a tall green gem with a square stone in the place of her eye. “Emerald?” Connie questioned.

Before the gem could respond, Pilot leapt up from behind her balancing upside down on her tiara. “ ** _Helmsplitter!_** ” Emerald’s physical body was obliterated instantly.

“Pilot!?” Connie exclaimed. “What are you doing? What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” Pilot replied stepping up towards her, kicking Emerald’s gem up into his hand. “What can I do you for?”

Connie remembered her mission. “I’m trying to find out how to cut the Breaking Point, Pearl said it was physically impossible but that I could do it. Do you have any idea what she meant?”

Pilot sat down on one of the beds thoughtfully. “It sounds like she wants you to start defying physics. I’ve been looking forward to this.”

“What are you talking about?” Connie retorted. “You can’t defy physics, it’s… physics!”

“Now Connie,” Pilot’s tone suggested he was about to explain something he considered quite simple, “take my helmsplitter for example. Does it really seem probable that a little guy like me could instantly right myself from a handstand with enough force to break concrete without breaking my legs?”

“Um, no.” Connie admitted. “How do you do it.”

“I tap into my vasha and defy physics.”

“Your what?”

“Vasha.” Pilot repeated. “Conceptual force, data incarnate. Vasha is what gives matter and energy properties. By manipulating vasha, you can temporarily alter the properties of yourself and the world around you. That’s why I name some of my attacks. Names ascribe properties to your actions, names have power.”

“But I’m a human.” Connie replied.

Pilot didn’t say anything.

“I don’t have vasha.”

“Yes you do.” Pilot replied. “Weren’t you listening? Everything has vasha, it’s just that without a kelmepi body you need something conceptually charged to exercise it.”

“Like my sword.” Connie held up the katana in her hands.

“Exactly.”

“So I just have to put more vasha into my sword?”

Pilot shook his head. “Not quite. It isn’t a matter of how much vasha you put in, it’s what type and how you manipulate it.”

“Oh.” Connie nodded. “How do I do it then?”

Pilot gave a comically exaggerated shrug. “I dunno! Do I look like a swordsman to you?” With that, he vanished in a flash of blue light.

Blinking from the light, Connie gave one more look for him or Lion. As she stood up from checking under the bed, she saw Lion standing back in the hallway looking at her. Before she could respond, he turned and walked out of the doorway’s view. Connie ran to catch him. As she got through the door, she saw him entering another room. She followed.

Again, Lion was not present when she got to the room. The room seemed to be a ward like the last, except it had been stripped of all furniture. The only features of the room were the Breaking Point siting in the middle and curled up about ten feet away, staring at it in terror, was Steven.

“Steven!” Connie ran up to her boyfriend, positioning herself between him and the weapon and hugging him. “It’s alright, it can’t hurt you.”

“But, but…” The boy stammered. “But I’m scared. Please get rid of it, we can’t let it hurt anyone else.”

“Alright…” She stood up and turned to the Breaking Point. She held her katana over her head two-handed. “I have to cut this.” She thought. “Steven’s counting on me.” She swung down.

The blade bounced off the weapon harmlessly.

She remembered Pilot’s comment about names having power and raised her sword again. “ _Overhead Death Strike!_ ”

Again, the sword made no mark.

A man’s voice filled her head. He was stern, cold, and familiar, though Connie could not yet tell from where. “Fate is not kind enough to give us talents just because we need them.”

Connie turned around. Steven was gone. “Steven?” Getting no response, Connie picked up the Breaking Point (finding it much lighter in her mind), looped it over her shoulder and made her way out of the room. “Ok Lion, where to next?” She spotted Lion a little way ahead of her entering a new room. “Wait up boy!”

Connie found herself in another ward, much brighter, with sunlight streaming in through the windows despite the fact that teal mist dotted with silver shoals was still all that one could see out of them. Leant on a windowsill, enjoying the view was a man Connie knew immediately.

“Dad?”

Doug turned around with a broad, loving smile. “Connie! How’s my swashbuckling swashbuckler doing? Homeworld isn’t getting you down is it?”

“Erm, I’m ok.”

“Oh good! What’s that thing?” He pointed to the Breaking Point on his daughter’s shoulder.

“It’s a weapon I’m trying to destroy so it doesn’t hurt anyone. Apparently, I could cut it into pieces if I get my vasha right but I’m still figuring that part out.”

“Vasha? That isn’t some young person euphemism I should be worried about is it?” He smiled jokingly.

“No dad! Eww!” She chuckled. “It’s a Kelmepi word, It doesn’t really translate into English or Hindi but it’s sort of conceptual power according to Pilot.”

“And Pilot thinks you can use that to cut this?”

“Yeah.”

“Well of course you can!” Doug encouraged. “Connie Maheswaran can do anything she sets her mind to!”

“Thanks dad.”

“Why don’t you try again now?”

“Alright.” She set the Breaking Point on the ground and brought froth her sabre. “ _Swashbuckler Slice!_ ” She swept the blade diagonally.

Not a scratch lay on the target.

Immediately, the mysterious voice returned. “If all success entailed was the belief that one will succeed then fools would be all-powerful, and reason would fall.”

Realising her father was also gone, Connie picked up the Breaking Point with a disappointed sigh. Looking through the door, she saw Lion in a room across the hall. Connie crossed the hallway.

The new room seemed to be a smaller ward with a single bed, the occupant of which lion looked down upon, sitting quietly. From her angle, Connie could tell the patient wasn’t a full adult due to their smaller size, she also estimated them to be kelmep from their motionless, dark grey hand. The rest of her view was blocked by the doctor attending them.

“Mom?”

“Connie?” Priyanka closed the curtains around her patient’s bed before turning to her daughter with a slightly overworked smile, one Connie recognised from returns from late shifts at the hospital. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m looking for something.” Connie replied, trying in vain to find an angle through which she could peak through the curtains. “Who is that?”

Priyanka glanced over her shoulder for a moment. “Coma patient.”

“They’re a kelmep?”

“Yes.”

“Who are they.”

“Now Connie, that would be a breach of doctor/patient confidentiality.”

“Right, are they going to be ok? Are they going to wake up?”

“I don’t know.” Her mother replied. “What are you looking for though?”

“A way to destroy this.” Connie placed the Breaking Point on the floor.

“Why do you want to do that?”

“It’s made for shattering gems. Steven found it on Homeworld and it triggered some sort of murderous instinct thanks to the black spindle!”

“Steven? Is he alright now?”

“Yeah, I managed to talk him down from it but now he’s too scared to even touch it!”

“I’m not surprised.” She put a hand on her daughter’s back to console her.

Connie’s volume crept higher and higher “And now I feel powerless because I can’t even destroy this thing that’s hurting my boyfriend! It just makes me so mad!”

“Well that’s a very reasonable emotion to have in the circumstances. This thing sounds horrible.”

“Yeah, it is. Mom, could you give me some space?” 

“Of course.” Priyanka took a few steps back.

Connie brought out her katana and let all her hatred for the despicable object carry her away. Through her sword, Connie’s fury fell upon the Breaking Point. In the place of a name, Connie let out a furious yell.

Behind the curtain, the comatose girl twitched.

As Connie’s rage subsided, she saw her handiwork, scratches everywhere except the Breaking Point.

For a third time the voice came. “Swordsmanship is an act of elegance and precision. Anger will only make you lose control.”

Connie didn’t turn around. “Mom, please don’t go yet, I miss you and dad more than I’ve ever missed anything. It’s really tough here on Homeworld, everything is going wrong and Steven and I are alone.” She sniffled a bit. “I don’t know if we’re coming back!”

A gentle hand turned her around to see both her parents as they pulled her into a hug. “Don’t say that.” Her mother said softly, stroking Connie’s hair. “There’s still hope so long as you don’t give in. You haven’t given in have you?”

“No…”

“That’s my girl.”

“We’re rooting for you kid.” Her father assured her. “Get out there and show Homeworld what us Maheswarans are made of!”

Connie felt a nuzzle in her side. She looked to see Lion pushing her gently towards the door. “Ok, I got you.” She let her parents go, picked up the Breaking Point, and let Lion lead her out of the room. “See you later guys!”

“We love you!” Her father replied.

As Connie left, her parents turned to the curtained bed.

Instead of leading from afar, Lion walked alongside Connie to the next room. It was much farther down the hall than the others and they passed many wards, most empty, some containing other people Connie knew. Whenever Connie would stop or try to enter such a room, Lion would give her a delicate shove to signal that this wasn’t where she should stop. Eventually, Lion sat at a door and gazed into it.

Connie stopped too. “Is this it?”

Lion blinked at her before looking back into the room. It was pitch black inside and oozed foreboding.

“You want me to go in there?”

He nuzzled her approvingly.

“Alright.” She took a breath to amass her bravery, gripped her gladius, and ventured alone into the dark.

With only the light from the hallway to illuminate, Connie could see very little. The springiness on her feet suggested she stood on carpet as opposed to the tiles common in most of the hospital. She could also tell that someone was in the dark with her.

“Hello?” She called. “Who’s there?”

Out of the darkness stepped Roxillan. “Hello darling.” Her iron-grey eyes devoured the girl.

“What do you want?” Connie demanded pointing the sword at her.

“You.” Roxillan smiled. In her hand she produced an outfit in the same style as her own sized for Connie.

“Get away from me! You monster!”

Roxillan’s chuckle was cut short as a thin line of black blood seeped out across her neck. Her head collapsed from her body as the whole affair disintegrated into black mist, leaving only a black spindle behind.

Instinctively, Connie bent down to grab the heart. Just before her fingers could touch it, she felt cold steel on the nape of her neck. “What are you going to do with that accursed object.” The mysterious voice asked, no longer in her head, but behind her.

“It needs to be destroyed.” Connie replied.

“Good.” The weapon was raised from her neck.

Connie grabbed the black spindle, shutting out its dreadful words, and looked around the now slightly illuminated room. In the dim light, she recognised she was in a small staff break room equipped with a small microwave. She ran up to it, opened the door and tossed the heart in. She felt around herself for the other black spindle only to find it gone. She reasoned that this was her mind’s way of reminding her that putting a real spindle in an imaginary microwave was unlikely to be effective in its destruction. She closed the door and put the microwave on at full power for as long as it would allow, ninety nine minutes and fifty nine seconds. “This is probably worse work etiquette than microwaving fish.” She joked to herself. “Oh, did you hear about Dr. Maheswaran’s daughter?” She pantomimed as the microwave started to hum. “She only went and put a cursed kelmepi heart in the staff microwave!”

“I suppose they’ll never get the smell out.”

Connie jumped as she remembered she still wasn’t alone. As she turned to face him, Connie recognised the owner of the mysterious voice. His tall, slender form blocked the doorway, cutting out even more light with his cloak and broad, plumed hat. A cross shaped amulet rested on his exposed chest. The enormous black blade he held glimmered as if it were aflame in the orange light of the microwave. His sharp face and immaculate facial hair framed his piercing yellow eyes which threatened to cut with their very glance. “Hawk-Eye…”

Hawk-Eye Mihawk glared down at her. “As you remember me. Why do you walk this path?”

“Pardon?”

“The path you walk now is a path of desperation. Most swordsmen walk it while at death’s door. This is the path to see the rhythm of all things.”

“Vasha?” Connie questioned.

“As your grey skinned friends would call it.” Mihawk confirmed. “The ability to sense the rhythm of all things is a prelude to what the people of my world call ‘mantra’ or observation haki. At the momentum you are going you will break not only into the rhythm of all things but awaken your latent haki too, I cannot vouch for your safety in such a sudden and traumatic uplift. What is driving you to pursue this path?”

Connie suddenly felt the precipice she leant over. “If I continue and I get over it, will I be stronger?”

“If you can keep control of your latent haki, then yes. Potentially you could become a more powerful swordsman than any human your world has ever seen. The power you could grow to is functionally limitless. Your body would no longer be the limiting factor on your potential. Do you take this risk in search of power?”

“I want to protect my friends!” Connie declared. “I want to help Steven save this universe, I want to protect him from everything trying to hurt him, I want to protect him from things like this!” She threw the Breaking Point at the master swordsman’s feet.

Mihawk touched his blade to the device. “All that may be achieved if you press on.” Suddenly, he unleashed a blinding series of slashes that caused Connie’s adrenaline to spike. As he sheathed the great blade on his back, the Breaking Point collapsed into shrapnel. “Are you willing to take the risk?”

“Yes…” She replied meekly.

“Are you!?” He shouted.

“Yes!” She shouted back.

“Then on your own head be it. You have tried necessity, confidence, and rage, now it is time you try opening your eyes to see.” He stood aside from the door. “I believe your beast awaits you.”

Connie hurried past Mihawk, back into the hall. “Thank you.” She approached Lion. “Where to now?”

Lion ducked his head and helped her onto his back. Once the girl had clambered into a more comfortable position, Lion charged down the hall.

Mihawk looked into the microwave as the black spindle faded into nothing under the bombardment of radiation. “It is a pity she isn’t ready. I wonder if she has will enough to survive.”

Running down the hall, Lion pounced. With a roar he made a portal through which he carried his rider.

Lion slowed to a stop in a white void.

“What is this place?” Asked Connie.

Lion only looked around impassively.

“What am I meant to do here Lion?”

Lion shook his great back, throwing her off.

Connie scrabbled to her feet. “What was that for!?”

Lion snorted in her face.

“Ok, Mihawk said to open my eyes and see, ok.” She turned around. “What can I see?” She peered as hard as she could. “I’m seeing a lot of white here bud. Wait there’s something! No, that’s just my hair.” She sighed as she swept the hair aside.

Hours seemed to pass “Maybe he didn’t mean it literally?” She closed her eyes. “You’ll never believe it Lion, but now I can’t see anything at all.”

She felt days pass. “Come on vasha! Mantra! Observation haki, come to me! Do you think Steven misses me?”

If Connie had anything in the void to delineate the time she felt pass on, the sheer number of tallies may well have driven her insane. For all the time that had passed according to her, she hadn’t drunk, eaten, or slept, even as she felt the keen need to do all three. “I can’t die here.” She had quite forgotten that ‘here’ was in fact within her own mind. “Mihawk said that most swordsmen do this when they’re at the brink of death. Maybe this is what he meant. Maybe when I’m about to starve I’ll get it and we can get out of here!” With a manic grin she held Lion by the mane, staring into his eyes. “That’s it right? It’s going to be hard and painful, but we’ll get out of here, right?”

Lion gave her one of the pitying looks he had been giving a lot recently and closed his eyes with a sigh that lasted hours.

“Lion…” Tears formed in her eyes, “you’re scaring me.”

When Lion opened his eyes Connie backed off with a shriek. Her eyes were glued to his. Lion’s feline eyes had been replaced by eyes much more humanoid, with whites visible. The irises gleamed silver and Connie saw her terrified expression reflected in the pupils.

Rooted to the spot, Connie was helpless as the beast approached her. “Please, don’t! Lion!”

Lion paced unimpeded until he was virtually nose to nose with Connie. He slackened his powerful jaw and with a flash of his eyes, roared.

Pain filled Connie’s eye sockets as her scream merged silently into the exhalation of the one breath in which her mental escapade had been contained.

On her second breath, Connie opened her eyes a crack and reversed the grip on her sword. “ ** _Warp Squire Hidden Technique…_** ”

In an instant she took a step forward, running her blade along the Breaking Point as she went. “ **Pink Lion’s Song!** ”

As she put her katana away, the breaking point split in twain, cut from deadly tip to tail. Its mechanical guts spilt on the floor.

Behind her, Steven yelled in celebration. “Connie, that was incredible! That was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!”

As Connie opened her eyes, they burned. She could see everything. Even in the barren hallway she saw not only the light but the very idea of illumination, the walls groaned with support and rigidity, even the empty space thrummed with its oppression and tightness.

Steven noticed her stillness. “Connie?” He rushed around in front of her. “Connie, are you al-? Your eyes! Are you alright?”

Even as she had been overwhelmed by the empty corridor, the sudden appearance of her boyfriend proved to her just how empty the hall had been. In the instant before his eyes had shifted from excitement to concern, the stars that had occupied them had burnt her. His face radiated love, compassion, bravery, fear, and folly. He was as wonderous as he was flawed, he was beautiful, and it was killing her.

“Chorus… preserve… me…” Connie blacked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art by Teapods


	12. Jumping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pilot is cornered, quartz soldiers surround him, giving him only one direction of escape, downwards. Performer that he is, Pilot has a plan to ensure his escape, the question is whether it's worth it. How much despair is Pilot willing to cause for a minute head start? How many hearts will he break?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Pilot fakes his death in this chapter, and gives a pretty in depth speach about it beforehand.
> 
> Note: Underlined words are spoken in Conseptual, the kelmepi language.

“Good afternoon ladies!” Pilot grinned to the massing white quartzes. He backed towards the edge of the rooftop.

“You’re coming with us Pilot!” One of the larger quartzes shouted.

“You guys here to kill me?” He asked unconcernedly. His foot slid over the edge causing him to flail to keep balance, he looked back as some dislodged rubble fell to the dark depths yawning below.

“Our orders are to bring you before the Silver Duchess.”

“And why should I come with you?”

“You’re outnumbered Pilot. You can’t fight all of us.”

“True.” He agreed. He seemed to ponder for a moment. “Still, I must refuse. I don’t want to give old Roxy the satisfaction.”

“We’ve been allowed to use force if necessary, Pilot!” The quartz drew a mattock from the gem on her hip.

Pilot looked again over the precipice and then back to his audience, his face overly tragic, melodrama radiating from his forlorn dancer like pose. From comedy to tragedy, a new performance began. “So this is how it ends. To be… or not… to be? That… is the question.” He swept his body with clear mental anguish. “Is it truly noble to go on in this wrenched night, in hopes for light in the morn? Do I know even the names of what I place on the balance of my life?”

“What are you talking about?” The lead quartz exclaimed, furious in her bewilderment.

“Do you mind!?” Pilot shouted back, with put out anger sharply incongruous to his grieving speech.

“What?”

“I’m about to off myself here! The least you can do is let me say my last words!” He folded his arms crossly.

“Off yourself?” Another quartz questioned.

“Yes. I’m going to throw myself off this tower and shatter! Have fun scraping me off the pavement!”

“You can be shattered from that?”

“Why would you do that?”

“Do you want to shatter?”

Pilot refrained from answering the arresting gems’ questions, allowing the imagined answers to weigh heavy on them. “Now if you’ll excuse me.” Instantly he returned to his act. “Weep not for me,” he begged one of the smaller quartzes, “when I pass on into the Chorus’ long embrace. Only pray.” He swept his arm across the ground, picking up a roughly skull sized chunk of debris and holding it aloft. “Pray that if my vasha may ever return, it is to a body less tortured than mine…” He readied himself to lean back and fall.

“Don’t do it!” The small quartz called out, it was not an order, but a plea.

Pilot opened his eyes.

“There’s always another way out!” Another added.

“We can’t let you go, but that doesn’t mean its over!”

“The Duchess said your smart! You could figure something else out! Right?”

“Please,” the lead quartz begged, “don’t end it like this!”

Guilt wracked Pilot’s heart. He smiled weakly. “Part of me wishes that you were all just selfish jerks who didn’t care about me. Don’t tell Roxillan, but I stopped wanting to die a long time ago, partially thanks to a boy called Steven, you might have him mistaken for Pink Diamond. Let me tell you about him. He has a plan where good and kind gems like you live the lives they deserve on Earth, the lives Roxy and White are denying you. I know your too brainwashed to properly understand right now, but if that vision is to come to be, I have to jump. I’m not jumping because I want to die, I’m jumping because I want you to live. I’m sorry.” With that, he jumped.

“No!” The quartzes piled up to try and grab him, one who’s weapon was a long chain threw it out desperately, but he had fallen out of reach and out of sight.

For a few moments the quartzes looked over in stunned silence. Eventually, the lead quartz stood up. “The duchess with have our stones if we don’t report this to her. Who has the communicator?”

“I do.” The smaller quartz handed her a diamond-shaped device.

The lead quartz twisted the pyramid shaped halves to the correct angle and stepped away as they floated apart, a holographic screen forming between them. The image resolved itself to show Roxillan live.

“Your Grace.” The Quartzes saluted.

“Ah,” Roxillan smiled, “the quartzes I sent to collect my Pilot. I assume from the fact you are alive enough to talk to me that your mission was a success?”

“N-Not exactly.” The lead quartz admitted. “It was my fault, I-“

“There’s no need to take blame my dear.” Roxillan insisted calmly. “My Pilot’s is a tricky one. There is no shame in admitting she escaped you.”

“They didn’t escape your Grace. They shattered themselves.”

Roxillan’s smile dropped with disbelief. “You mean she killed herself?”

“Yes, your Grace. I am sorry”

“And you saw them do this?”

“Yes, I saw them jump.”

“Jump?”

“Yes, your Grace. They threw themselves off the citadel.”

Roxillan’s eyebrow arched with suspicion. “Did she remove her warp suit?”

“I don’t think so.”

“You idiots!” She exploded. “She can use the warp to slow her fall!”

“Wha-?”

“She’s still alive!”

“She is!” One quartz exclaimed.

“She was tumbling our rocks!” Another yelled.

“That lying clod!”

“Wait until I get my hands on her!”

Despite their complaints, the quartzes were happy to know the ending hadn’t been the tragic one they had been led to believe.

Roxillan’s furious glare silenced the uproar.

“W-We’ll jump down there and get them immediately your Grace.” The lead quartz offered.

“You will do no such thing!” Roxillan snapped. “By now she’s set up an ambush. If you go down there, she will take you out one by one. Even stupid sacks of rocks like you are more useful undestabilised.”

“What should we do then your Grace.”

“Listen well. When this transmission ends you are to throw this device over the edge of the building my Pilot jumped off of. You will then return to your barracks and await further instructions. Do you understand?”

“Yes, your Grace.”

“Silver Duchess out!” The screen became featureless as the two halves of the communicator closed back into each other.

The lead quartz picked up the device and threw it over the edge as instructed. “Alright gems, you heard the Duchess. To the dropship! We’re going home!”

Thousands of feet below, Pilot landed in a cloud of dust.

“Milking it a bit, weren’t we?” His mother chided. “If they had any prior concept of suicide, they would have seen straight through it.”

“I didn’t want you to think I was serious.” Pilot replied, siting up. “I didn’t want you to worry.” He stood and checked his surroundings. The light of Homeworld’s star seemed even farther away among the dusty ruins. He was in the decrepit architectural skeleton of the old, which the shiny and new had been so callously built on top of. From the outside, Homeworld did not look like a place with slums, yet here they were.

“I always worry about you.” She replied.

“I know.” The approach of a hovering robanoid was betrayed by its electrical hum. Pilot used the ribbon of traversal his sister had given him to pull himself up into the shadows of the ruin’s rafters. “They could be after us any second now. We have to be ready to ambush or slip away.”

“Slip away to where?”

“We’ve gotta hijack a ship outta here.” He responded. “We’ll hack a computer and locate the nearest shipyard.”

At that moment a diamond shaped object fell almost exactly where Pilot had landed.

The shattering robanoid approached the object and scanned it.

As it did the object activated revealing its screen. “It was just a robanoid.” Roxillan complained. “Pilot? Yoohoo! Pilot? You haven’t run away already have you?”

The end of Pilot’s ribbon dropped and wrapped around the front end of the robnoid. Pilot jumped down from his rafter, using it as a pully to drag the robanoid up and smash it into the ceiling. “What do you want?”

“Oh, not much, I only wanted to say how much I was looking forward to your visit.”

“You think I’m just going to walk into the solar plant?”

“Good guess.” Roxillan smiled.

“Wasn’t a guess.” Pilot insisted tersely. “You hate warmth, yet with all the cold places on Homeworld you choose to sit somewhere that makes you sweat.”

Roxilan wiped away the microscopic trace of moisture from her forehead.

“You know that Steven, Connie and the gems have you heart, so you’ve decided to guard the most obvious place to destroy it.”

“Very clever.” Roxillan replied sarcastically. “I’m almost impressed.”

“Well, I’m not looking for your approval, now am I?”

“Of course not.”

“It’s kind of obvious though. Set a trap at the big hot glowy place.”

“If you’re going to lower us both by speaking English, at least speak it properly.”

“You don’t think Garnet would predict you from a mile off?”

“Oh, I don’t have to worry about that.” Roxillan picked up a glass box and brought it on camera. Inside were the gems of Amethyst, Ruby, Sapphire, and Pearl. “Are you still so sure you won’t be coming?” Roxillan put the box down again.

Pilot glared at her. “You got directions to the solar plant mum?”

“Do you really need me to guide you to-?” She stopped. Sudden shock tried to express itself on her face. “What did you call me?”

“Directions have been installed into your glasses.” Axia informed her son.

“Thanks mum.”

Roxillan’s ridged expression broke into a laugh.

Pilot stood, silently taking her mockery.

Eventually Roxillan stopped to catch her breath. “I must say, even I am surprised. Not even I thought you would be so desperate for love that you’d start calling a machine mother.”

“Well who else would I be talking to? You?”

“Indeed.” Her face fell, seeing that her laughter had done nothing to farther upset him.

“After all, you only gave birth to me.”

Roxillan’s mouth fell open.

“I know about all of it. You, Barnaborous, everything.”

“How?”

Pilot shook his head.

“Well do you appreciate it.” The Silver Duchess’ voice shook a bit. “Do you at least appreciate everything I’ve done?”

Silence. Pilot took out his sunglasses and slipped them on, arrows appearing on them, directing him to turn around.

“Well, do you?” Desperation broke through. “I gave up everything for you! The least you can do is show me gratitude!”

He turned away.

“Don’t you turn your back on me! Don’t you hide from the truth!” She started sobbing, punching Blue Pearl in the face as she tried to console her. “Don’t touch me!” She cried bitterly.

Pilot started walking away.

“You would have died without me and you are the least deserving child I could have had! Look at me when I’m talking to you, you son of a bitch!”

Pilot stopped and looked over his shoulder. “Son?”

“You know what I meant!” She snapped.

“I think that’s the first time you called me by my preferred gender.” Pilot sighed heavily. “I think it’s happening again.”

“What?”

“Part of me wants to try and save you again. So, tell me. What can you say to me so I know that my mother is in there somewhere?”

Roxillan broke down crying again. “I need you!”

“So close. Only a single word off.” Pilot cast out his ribbon and swung away, broken hearted sobs echoing behind him.

“What did you say to her?” Axia questioned as the crying reduced to a low drone in the distance.

“It doesn’t matter.” Pilot replied.

“She has our allies! You shouldn’t have provoked her.”

“I didn’t provoke her.” Tears appeared in the corners of his eyes. “Who knows when she was planning to shatter them. I had to paralyse her to keep them safe. There was nothing else I could do.”

“What did you do?”

“I crushed what was left of her soul.”


	13. Lost Baby, Lost Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxillan does not take her child's rejection well...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: assault of a defenceless person, mentions of child abuse.
> 
> Note: underlined words are spoken in Conceptual, the kelmepi language.

“Please your Grace!” A fleeing quartz begged before being caught in the back.

“Why are you doing this!?” Another took a spear to the head.

“What did we do wrong!?” Another quartz poofed.

Charging from gem to gem, dropping her own guards and staff, Roxillan wailed miserably. “My baby! My ba-a-by-y!” She fell to her knees, choking bitterly on her tears. She looked around, she was alone, all of her guards had been destabilised by her hand.

She was situated on one of the large decks which gave the solar plant its distinctive fishbone shape. Behind her, partially blocked only by a guard rail, narrow support beams, and an elevator shaft was the glowing yellow light fluid, like a column had been carved out of the sun. Despite her solitude, she still she felt eyes on her, judging her, hating her.

Of course, she knew she wasn’t truly alone. Her pearls, accustomed to her sudden bouts of violence, had fled and were now hiding until she calmed down. It was more than that though, Roxillan knew that in the walls and under her feet were tiny gems, beholden to neither her nor White Diamond.

Roxillan was sure that the pebbles had progressed from avoiding her control but still serving her to actively plotting against her. Indeed, as she had been at her most helpless, crying there on the floor, the pebbles had quietly opened holes and rescued the stones of her destabilised staff, taking them to safety Chorus-knows-where. She had known they would follow her, Chorus knows how they outpaced a dropship with their tiny legs. She had called a sapphire once to tell her how to escape the pebbles. The clairvoyant gem had told her to change her base of operations, that it would take the pebbles years to catch up with her. The building was infested before she even passed the threshold.

Evidence of the pebbles’ presence was even more obvious than usual when she had arrived at the powerplant. Normally enough, the pebbles had provisioned her with a table, which she had placed the box of her prisoners upon, and a throne. The room however was dominated by an enormous statue in her likeness, the plinth alone was a five-foot cube, the statue was three times that hight. Roxillan was sure it was a declaration of some kind, but she refused to alter her plans because of it. The day she gave the attempted insurrection of such tiny, pathetic creatures the courtesy of an urgent response was the day she gave up all self-respect.

There on the ground, still crying inconsolably, Roxillan raised her head. “Pearl!” She screamed between sobs. “One of you! Either of you! Get over here!”

After a few seconds, Yellow Pearl stood up from her hiding place. “Y-Yes your Grace?”

“M-My seat…” Roxillan whimpered, with a tone like a spoilt child coming down from a tantrum.

“Your seat your Grace?” The pearl replied, edging closer to the weeping kelmep.

Roxillan held out her arms. “I want to sit in it. Carry me.”

“Yes your Grace.” This was the first time the Silver Duchess had made such an intimate request of her pearls. Nevertheless, the gem gently scooped her mistress up and walked her to the chair. Roxillan was heavy in Yellow Pearl’s arms, though she would never say so. What was worse was the menace, the feeling that the creature in Yellow Pearl’s arms was one false move away from snapping, that at any moment her load would descend into madness and do any number of things to her. She had seen Roxillan do far worse things to a gem than shatter them.

“What did I ever do to deserve this? All I do is give, and Pilot…” Roxillan broke down again as Pearl gently put her down.

“I-I’m sure all the horrible things she said to you was utterly undeserved your Grace.” Yellow Pearl comforted, desperate to keep another outburst at bay. As she set Roxillan straight in her throne, Yellow Pearl realised with horror that her Duchess was holding her wrist and not letting go. The pressure hurt, though not nearly as much as the mounting dread. “Your Grace?”

Suddenly Roxillan pulled the gem into her. Yellow Pearl closed her eyes in preparation for the end. She felt no destabilising force, no spear, only a gentle swaying. She opened her eyes. Yellow Pearl was relieved, yet no less disturbed, to find Roxillan cradling her, rocking her back and forth, incoherently murmuring a kelmepi lullaby.

After what felt like an eternity, Roxillan made eye contact. “She was so small when I gave birth to her. Her head was hardly any bigger than this.”

Yellow Pearl squeaked with fright as Roxillan traced her finger around her gem.

“They all said that that she wouldn’t live, especially not on a ship they told me. I went back for her, to my father, to Ulndae!” She sobbed into her pearl’s chest for a good long while. The communicator lit up with an urgent request for assistance. Without looking up, Roxillan destroyed the communicator with a well-aimed spear. “I suppose they were right. My baby didn’t even survive her first century.”

“T-There’s still hope your Grace.” Yellow Pearl suggested. "You gave the command to bring the Pilot in alive and we haven’t received any reports to the contrar-.”

Roxillan punched her in the jaw with force enough to send her flying off her lap. “She’s dead to me!” Roxillan vanished in black mist, reappearing straddled over the reeling gem beating her savagely with her fists.

“I’m -oof!- sorry your -gack!- Grace!” Yellow Pearl pleaded between punches. “Please, -arg!- stop! What do you -ow!- want?”

“I want babies!” Roxillan screamed hysterically.

“We’ll get you babies! -aie!- Any kind you want! As many as you want! Any sized head! Please stop hitting me!”

The Kelmep’s fists slammed into the pinned pearl, punctuating her every utterance. “I want Pink Diamond’s baby! I want his human concubine! I need them!”

With a final hammer-blow strike, Yellow Pearl’s physical form gave in.

Roxillan gently scooped up the gem and quietly returned to rocking it. “Pearl!” She called not looking up.

Shaking with terror, Blue Pearl came out of hiding. “Yes your Grace?”

“Find another communicator, tell the troops to guard the plant and keep Pilot away. He is to be killed on sight. Steven and Connie are to be brought back alive.”

“Right away!” Blue Pearl fled into the elevator.

As her remaining servant left, Roxillan addressed the stone in her arm. “That horrid Pilot! How could I have ever mistaken him for my daughter?” She rocked the stone back and forth singing a strange disjointed melody.

_ Little baby mine my dear _

_ Little baby head, _

_ You were born too soon my dear _

_ They say you should be dead. _

_ But I have faith in you my dear _

_ As you must trust in me, _

_ So for your health I go my dear _

_ I come back home from sea. _

_ I know and feel you pain my dear _

_ I know that this is wrong  _

_ The beatings they do hurt my dear _

_ But we must both be strong. _

_ One day you will escape my dear  _

_ One day when you are wed _

_ Don’t think what becomes of me my dear _

_ Stress not your tiny head. _

Roxillan looked up at looked up at the elevator door with a shaking breath.

But now you have died my dear

And the Pilot took your soul,

Once I have his youths my dear

We will both be whole.


	14. Reclaimation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the Breaking Point destroyed, Steven and Connie must return to their original mission to destroy the black spindle. Their search leads them to a waste reclamation centre. It appears that gems still inhabit this facility, free from White Diamond’s power, but does that mean that Steven and Connie can trust them?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Kissing and stuff

Connie felt sensation return to her. A hard floor on her back, still, stuffy air on her skin, and the sound of Steven’s frantic voice. “Connie! Please wake up! What’s wrong?”

She felt his ear against her chest.

“Ok, your heart’s still beating, that’s good…” His voice only slightly backed away from a mental breakdown.

Connie cracked a small smile. “I really have to teach you how to take a pulse with your fingers. If you weren’t my boyfriend, I might have had to slap you for putting your head there.”

“Connie!” He exclaimed joyously.

She opened her eyes. The darkness replaced by… a blurry mass of pink. “Steven?”

“Are you feeling alright? You just collapsed after cutting the breaking point in half!”

“I’m fine. How long was I out?” Connie pushed herself up into a sitting position.

“Only a few seconds.” Steven helped her up. “Slowly does it.”

Connie felt around for wall to lean on, shuffling backwards. She rested her weight on the wall. “Before I lost consciousness, you mentioned my eyes.”

“Yeah, they were silver.” He explained. “They’re back to normal now though.”

“I almost had it, Steven.”

“Had what?”

“I almost mastered the breath of all things! I could see vasha! Now I can hardly see at all.”

“I don’t really understand. Can you not see?” His voice worried again, Steven’s hand appeared in the outer limits of Connie’s myopic visual range.

“Not exactly, everything is really blurry unless it’s right in front of my face. Man, my vision hasn’t been this bad since…” Realisation dawned on her. “Steven, come here.”

“Alright.” Steven sat right in front of her.

Connie felt for his face and pulled him in until his facial features were distinct. “Steven, I want you to know that I love you.”

“I love you too!” He interrupted happily.

“I know Biscuit.” She sighed. “What I was going to say was even though I love you, I don’t want you to confuse what I’m about to do as being anything other than medical. That ok?”

“Sure, anything to fix your eye- mmph!”

Connie leant in to kiss him deeply. After almost half a minute, she let him go, pushing him away slightly. Her vision sharpened to perfection. “Th-There we go. I can see again.”

“Y-You kissed me!” Steven exclaimed, breathless from shock and exhilaration.

“You’re my boyfriend!” She blushed standing up. “Can you help me with this?”

“S-Sure.” He replied helping her dump the Breaking Point pieces into the nearby dumpster. “But Connie, I think that was the first time you-.”

“I know!” She interrupted, embarrassedly turning away. “We were going to follow the tracks back the way they came, right?”

“Right. But Connie, kissing me like that…”

“What did I say Steven?!” She shouted, walking ahead of him so he couldn’t see her maroon face.

“Medical, right.” His tone was slightly disappointed.

Connie stopped. She turned around. “Did I upset you Steven?” She asked apologetically. “I’m sorry for kissing you like that without asking properly, I was embarrassed.”

“No, it’s fine!” Steven assured her. “You don’t have to be embarrassed around me. We can just talk about it first next time!”

“Next time!?”

“Speaking of…” he grinned playfully, “are you sure your eyesight’s completely back to normal? Because if not…” He made a kissy face.

Connie covered her face with one hand and pushed Steven’s away with the other as she tried to hide her snicker. “Not a chance!” She mimicked the voice of a rich southern belle whose secret lover had suggested they elope. “Why, what would our families say!”

The pair chuckled quietly together as they shot flirtatious banter back and forth on their way back along the way they had come, remembering to trade the black spindle back over to Steven as the five-minute mark passed.

As the pair reached the crossroads where they had taken the original wrong turn, Connie cocked her head. “Do you hear that?”

They listened quietly.

_Clack clack clack clack…_

The steps coming from far behind them were too heavy and repetitive to be Roxillan, but to be safe they tucked themselves around the corner, pressing themselves against the wall. Eventually the source of the sound passed them, it was one of the dumpsters, the first they had seen on the move.

Steven stepped out.

“Careful!” Connie hissed.

“I don’t think it can see us.” Steven replied, beckoning her to follow it with him.

Connie obliged. The dumpster’s pace was fast enough that the pair had to jog to keep up with it. “If it can’t see how does it know where it’s going?”

Steven pointed to its undercarriage from which a faint purplish-white light shone. Where the light touched the floor a glowing blue line appeared.

“Ultraviolet light.” Connie recognised.

“I think it’s following that line.” Steven theorised. He jumped up into the air to examine the dumpster’s contents. “This thing is full of garbage!”

“That’s fascinating Steven.” Connie replied sarcastically.

“It’s probably going to the incinerator.” He replied landing beside her and taking her hand. “Let’s ride along with it.” He jumped up with her.

Connie looked down at the garbage they were going to land in, jagged rubble, sharp shrapnel, and broken glass mostly. “Steven!”

Just before they landed the half gem boy formed a bubble, protecting them from harm. “I got you.”

Connie looked around. “What now?”

“Enjoy the ride and keep a look out for the incinerator.”

As the dumpster made its journey, other dumpsters joined up behind it, eventually forming a thirty-dumpster long train of which their dumpster was the leader. The hallway eventually changed too, opening from an oppressive hall to an unwalled catwalk making its way over a wider room.

“I wonder what’s below us?” Steven wondered aloud, standing to try and see.

At that moment the dumpsters stopped. Suddenly, and rather unceremoniously, they all tipped their loads over to the side, the bubbled teens falling with them.

Unlike the rest of the trash, Steven and Connie bounced a bit before coming to a stop, landing them safely clear of falling garbage. “Me and my big mouth.” Steven muttered, lowering the bubble.

“It doesn’t seem like there’s an incinerator here.” Connie observed. The room was without furniture but scattered with four legged carts with symbols in gem glyph. The room had many hallways coming off of it and was marked by trenches for falling garbage to settle in.

They were caught off guard by a shout. “Next load’s here! Get to work!”

Steven and Connie just had time to duck behind a cart when a band of gems entered the room. The gems consisted of three rubies, two amethysts, and a jasper. The identification was easy as the gems retained their natural coloration. “They aren’t under White’s control.” Connie realised.

The gems began picking up shovels and donning protective gloves. The rubies collected carts and hauled them to the garbage pile. The quartzes, with ruby assistance, separated the garbage by material, with each type getting its own cart. When a cart was full, a ruby would press a button on the side and the cart would wander off by itself down the distant halls, disappearing around the corner. The gems didn’t quite seem themselves, there was none of the playful banter that one would expect from quartzes, none of the posturing and competition between the rubies. All of them were on a knife’s edge, glancing furtively down the corridors as if they expected something horrible to emerge.

A cart was filled scrap metal and a ruby pressed a button on the side. The cart did not activate. Instead of annoyance, the ruby’s face gaped in terror. “The cart’s stopped working!”

“A-Another one?” Another ruby jittered. “T-This can’t keep happening!”

“Peridot!” The third cried.

“I’m coming!” Out from the same corridor the quartzes and rubies came, ran a peridot complete with limb enhancers. Her gem sat in the centre of her chest and her hair was rounded with a pair of pigtails that widened out along their length to form geometrically perfect cones.

One of the amethysts, the one with her gem on her stomach, started to break down, stroking and pulling on her long hair in a panic. “This is it! We’re cracked! They’re going to notice the missing cart and come looking for it! They’re going to find us and-!”

“It’s going to be alright.” The other Amethyst, her gem on the back of her hand, assured her.

“Yeah,” the jasper agreed, “Peridot’s working on it already. See?” She pointed at the technician, kneeling by the cart, having removed its access panel. “The cart will be gone in no time.”

“But things keep going wrong! They’ll come for us eventually, we can’t hide forever!”

“That’s enough of that!” Another gem strode out from the corridor, she was as tall and almost as broad as the quartzes, her skin was pale green, her appearance modifier was a grassy green top, dark green bottom, and white jackboots. Over her shoulders rested an olive-green shawl held together by a yellow diamond shaped crest. Her hair colour was split down the middle, mint green on the left and forest green on the right. The two halves came together into a braid that went down to the backs of her knees her pointed moss green gem at the tip giving it a rather scorpion-like appearance. Her hair was animate, twitching in response to her stress like a cat’s tail. She marched over to the quartzes and shoved them. “This is no time for whining! There are other carts to fill that will also be missed if we don’t fill them promptly! Get back to work!”

“Yes Moss Agate!” The quartzes scrambled after their shovels and returned to their duties.

Supressing her own anxiety, Moss Agate went to stand over Peridot. “Is it fixed?”

“I-I’ve just started working on it Moss Agate.”

“Then work faster!” She shouted. With nowhere else to vent her mounting terror, Moss Agate started screaming at the back of the shaking peridot’s head as she worked. “We don’t have time to sit back Peridot! If this cart isn’t fixed in the next microrotation then so help me I’ll, I’ll!” She raised her fist.

Peridot flinched.

“Stop!” All heads turned to Steven’s cry. The boy stood on top of the cart he had been hiding behind. “She’s working as fast as she can! She’s clearly as scared as all of you! Shouting and threatening her isn’t going to get the cart fixed any faster!”

Connie got up next to him.

“What are they!?” A ruby asked.

“They’re organics!” The jasper realised.

“What are they doing here?” The calmer amethyst questioned.

“They’re servants of the Silver Duchess to lead White’s soldiers to us!” The frightened Amethyst screamed. “Oh Stars, they’re coming! They’re coming!”

“No, we aren’t with Roxillan! you’re safe! We fell from up there.” Steven pointed up at the catwalk.

“S-So they’re part of the delivery?” Moss Agate put her fingers to her lip.

“No,” Connie tried to explain, “We were trying to find a-.”

Moss Agate didn’t seem to hear her. “But waste reclamation isn’t designed to handle organics!” She started to pace up and down. “Oh well, it’s not like we can call organic control. I wonder which waste type organics are. Too soft to be metal or glass. Mechanical parts perhaps?” She looked up at them. “You aren’t made of polymer, are you?”

“I… I don’t think so.” Steven replied.

“Would you stop helping them choose how to recycle us.” Connie hissed at him.

“Well, I suppose the safe option would be miscellaneous waste for burial.” She pointed to a nearby cart. “Here organics, this unit here! Good organics!”

Connie stared at her in disbelief. “Like we’re going to let you bury us alive!” She produced her gladius.

Moss Agate shook her head in frustration as her hair brought her gem up to her hands. “Why must organics be so unreasonable!” She summoned her weapons, a push dagger in each hand and one covering her gem at the end of her now raised braid. The blades seemed to drip with a noxious green fluid that sizzled as it hit the floor.

“Wait!” Steven raised a large shield to block their approach. “Just listen.”

A new gem stormed into the room. She was tall and slender, wearing a floor length pink dress and short, curly, rose-coloured hair contained in a bonnet. Her square gem was located on her left shoulder. In her wake crept a violet pearl with similar gem placement but a shorter dress, eyes peeping out of straight purple bangs. “What is the hold up he-?” The pink gem stood agog at Steven’s shield before suddenly turning on Moss Agate. “Dismiss your weapons immediately agate! Don’t you know who you face!?”

Moss Agate disarmed herself immediately and stood back with a salute. “Yes, Your Brilliance! I mean, no, Your Brilliance! I mean, who is this Your Brilliance?”

Ignoring her, the pink gem raced over to Steven’s shield, kneeling before him. “I am so sorry for the inconvenience my staff have caused you! I can only beg for your forgiveness,” she looked up at him, “my Diamond!”


	15. Teaching Pearl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having mistaken Steven for his mother, gem in charge wants desires to have a word with him, in private, with not even Connie in attendance. Left with little recourse, Connie must resign herself to being babysat by the elite gem’s pearl. She discovers however, that the ideas she takes for granted are revolutionary to such a lowly gem.

Steven lowered his shield as he got down from the cart he stood upon. “It’s alright. It was a misunderstanding is all.”

“Oh, thank you my Diamond!” The pink gem fawned.

Steven looked around, all the gems were kneeling to or saluting him. He turned back to the gem who identified him. “Who are you?”

“Morganite,” She replied, “Facet 4T8V Cut 9RT, loyal administrator, reviewer, and inspector of facilities, amenities, and events.”

The obstinance the gems showed him started to weigh down on Steven. “I see. At ease?”

The gems stood and dropped their salutes. Moss Agate began ordering her charges. “Get back to work!”

Steven was about to say something on her fearsome attitude when Morganite started gushing. “Oh, my Diamond, I always knew you weren’t really gone! I was so happy when I heard you had returned; I was so excited to start assuring the quality of your balls and galas again! But then with everything that happened at the Era Three Ball… I’m so glad you’re here! Well not that you’re in a waste reclamation centre, but I’m so glad you’re safe my Diamond! And might I say that your form is… fascinating, my Diamond.”

“Thanks?” Steven finally managed to say in the hurricane of Morganite’s excitement. “You don’t have to keep calling me your Diamond, just Steven’s fine.”

“Of course, my Steven!”

Steven sighed quietly. “So what has happened? I’ve been away from Homeworld since the ball. I only came back today.”

“I see, may I speak with you in private? The matter of the events that lead to our current condition are… sensitive.” She nodded judgmentally to the amethyst with her gem on her stomach, she seemed to be crying. “I don’t want to trigger any further mental breaks.”

“Alright.” Steven nodded.

“Thank you.” Morganite started to lead Steven towards the corridor. She stopped as she saw Connie follow them over her shoulder. She clapped twice. “Pearl, keep Pink Diamond’s pet entertained while we’re gone.”

“Yes, your Brilliance.” The pearl replied shyly.

“Excuse me!?” Connie exclaimed.

“Connie isn’t my pet.” Steven explained. “We work together.”

“My apologies, my Steven.” She looked back at Pearl. “Pearl, keep Pink Diamond’s Connie entertained while we’re gone.” She turned back to Steven for approval.

With a defeated sigh, Steven gave Connie an apologetic look as he was led away.

Connie scowled as Pearl lead her in the opposite direction to an unoccupied part of the room. Pearl positioned her carefully. “This area seems safe. Please make yourself comfortable.” She placed herself a few feet in front of the girl. “I will now commence entertainment.” She began to sing scales in repeating, mechanical fashion.

Disturbed, Connie looked away subtly. She was happy to see that Steven’s intervention was having some positive effect, Moss Agate was no longer shouting at Peridot and she was ignoring the rubies and quartzes attempts to console the panicked amethyst as they worked.

“Is my singing not to your preference?” Pearl’s question brought Connie back to attention.

“No, I… It’s not you, it’s just that I’d rather be helping Steven.”

Pearl nodded with incomplete comprehension. “I shall attempt another method.” From her gem, Pearl produced a slender sceptre with little bells on either end. With prop in hand, she started to dance. Her dance was less a dance in the traditional sense and more a slow shift from one elegant pose to another, punctuating her shifts with a gentle jingling of her bells.

Not wanting to seem disinterested again, Connie made herself watch the performance. She was surprised to find in the robotic movements a fascinating poise and grace.

The performance was interrupted by Moss Agate’s shout. “Peridot! Stop staring at the property of your betters and get back to work!”

“R-Right away Moss Agate! Sorry Moss Agate!”

Moss Agate tightened her lip, thinking about shouting further at the technician, but decided to settle for watching her like a hawk.

Connie caught a sad look in Pearl’s eye as Peridot returned to fixing the cart. “Pearl, can I ask you something.”

“Of course.” She bowed.

“How are you feeling?”

Pearl shifted uncomfortably on her feet. “I’m not sure I understand your question.”

“Well, I’m sure hiding here for so long has been scary,” Connie elaborated, “and with everybody freaking out over every little thing, it’s probably stressful too. I just wanted to know how you were dealing with it, how it was making you feel.”

Still searching the human’s face for meaning, Pearl tried to assemble an answer. “My Morganite has been dealing with the situation as well as she can with the limited resources. She has been more stressed than usual and is displaying some restlessness from being trapped in a single facility, but she is handling it well of course.”

“Alright, that’s good,” Connie nodded supportively, “but that isn’t what I asked. I asked how you are doing, not Morganite.”

Pearl paused, finally understanding what Connie was getting at but finding no answer forthcoming in her mind, so poorly exercised in the areas of concern for herself and her desires. “Well, you know how it is. Us servants shouldn’t think about ourselves when we have the gems we serve to think about.”

“That isn’t true!” Connie answered.

“I’m sorry?”

“Firstly, I’m not a servant.”

“You serve Pink Diamond.”

“I don’t serve Steven,” Connie explained, “I’m his girlfriend, we work together.”

Pearl blinked, her lack of comprehension showing plainly.

“Where I come from, Earth, people aren’t made to serve others. People are treated equally.”

“How lucky you are.” Pearl gave a small smile. “Perhaps if I had been made on Earth, I would have been a Connie and not have to serve anyone.”

“That’s not what I meant. There’s this pearl who lives on Earth-.”

“Who does she belong to?” Asked Pearl.

“Nobody.”

Pearl’s eyes widened with shock. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “What does she do?”

“A lot of things, she taught me how to fight with a sword.”

“But pearls don’t teach fighting!” The gem protested, the scandal shaking her to her core.

“She wanted to!” Connie beamed. “On Earth you can do whatever you want as long as you aren’t stopping other people from doing what they want.”

Pearl felt a bit unsteady on her feet, all the new ideas swamped her ability to process.

“So, what do you want to do? Once all this mess with White is fixed, I mean.”

“Well, I…” She glanced over at Peridot before looking back. “This is a very hard question Connie!”

“Ok, let’s leave what you want for now. How are you feeling?”

Pearl paused for a good while as she collated her answer. “I’m scared? Very scared. Not as scared as Amethyst, but she is right, we are in a lot of danger. Am I doing it right?”

“You’re expressing yourself very well.” Connie assured her. “Keep going.”

“Alright. Well, even though I’m scared, I’m also happy?”

“Really?”

“Oh I’m sorry,” She began to close in again, “that was wrong!”

“No, no!” Connie insisted. “There’s no wrong way to feel! I was just surprised.” She held Pearl’s hand. “What’s making you happy?”

“Well, my Morganite and I go from facility to facility doing inspections, hardly anyone talks to a pearl in the best of times anyway so my Morganite was the only gem I really got to know. Now we’re stuck here together, the other gems are talking to me. They’re such a nice gem.”

“Gem?” Connie smiled. “Singular?”

“Oh, I meant…” She looked away. “Yes.”

“Who is it?” Connie gave her a nudge.

Pearl giggled coyly. “Oh, I couldn’t…”

“Is it one of the quartzes? They’re pretty, you know…” She made flexing motion with her arms.

“They’re… nice, in a loud way…”

“Ok, who were you thinking of then?”

Pearl glanced over to the gem repairing a cart.

“Peridot?”

“Sh! She’ll hear you! She’s just so nice to me. She listens, she’s funny, she’s tall, she just so lovely.” She glanced away dreamily.

“Does she know how you feel?” Connie asked.

“No. Of course not!” Pearl blushed. “A peridot with a pearl, can you imagine? She’d think I was being ridiculous.”

“You can’t be sure. Gems with bigger social gaps have had similar feelings for each other.”

“Which gems?”

“There’s a ruby and a sapphire.” Connie told her. “One day a long time ago, the ruby disproved the sapphire’s future vision by saving her, lost on Earth, the two fell in love and they are together to this day.”

“What is love?”

“Love is…” Connie paused. “Love is a lot of things. It’s when you care a lot about someone. When them being happy makes you happy. Is that how you feel about Peridot?”

Pearl nodded meekly. “I think so. Do you love anyone?”

“Yeah. My parents, Steven-,”

“Does Steven know you love her?”

“Of course he does, I’m his girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?”

“Somebody you love and who loves you. You kiss them and go on dates. A date is when you go to fun places together.”

“Places like Earth?”

“Uh, yeah. Let me show you.” Connie took out her phone and opened her photos. “Here’s Steven giving me a kiss on a date back on Earth.”

Pearl looked over Connie’s shoulder at the picture. In the image, Connie seemed to have been taken by surprise by the boy who had suddenly turned and planted a kiss on her cheek as the shot had been taken. Behind them was sand and a very large amount of water. Something in the background caught her attention, a pair of silhouettes by the shore. The smaller figure was clearly a pearl from the slender build and distinctive nose. The taller figure was harder to identify, perhaps a demantoid or hessonite, a garnet of some sort. The garnet and pearl looked out over the water, both seemed relaxed, the garnet’s hand resting on the pearl’s shoulder. Pearl had never expected anyone to show such fondness to a member of her kind. She pointed out the pair. “Who are-?” Her finger slipped.

The phone screen swiped to a selfie Connie had taken with her mother. “Woops.” Connie went to swipe the screen back.

“Wait. Who’s that? It looks like a bigger version of you. Is it a Connie fusion?”

Connie laughed. “That’s my mom, she’s one of my parents.”

“I see… What’s a parent?”

“A parent is somebody who loves you and looks after you while you are growing and learning about the world. My mom and dad made me.”

“Made you?” Pearl expressed with wonder. “How did they do that?”

Connie opened her mouth to answer, stopped, thought about it, grimaced briefly, and looked down. “I…”

They were interrupted by Moss Agate’s bark. “Pearl! Your Morganite commanded you to entertain the Connie, not sit around doing nothing!” She marched furiously toward them.

“I-I’m sorry I-.”

Connie stepped in front of Pearl, locking her gaze. “Would you pull you head out of your exit hole and stop making assumptions!”

Moss Agate stopped in shock, grinding her heels into the floor. Never had an organic spoken to her in such a way. To be fair, no organic had ever spoken to her. “Well, I-,”

“Pearl and I are having a very interesting conversation!” Connie barked back.

“I see.” The agate replied sheepishly. “What about?”

“None of your business!”

“I- I apologise.”

“It’s fine.” Connie broke her piercing gaze with a sigh. “Steven and Morganite aren’t done talking are they?”

“T-They have yet to return. I will go check for you Connie.” Moss Agate turned on her heel and left down the corridor, quietly nursing her pride. 

Connie turned back to an astonished Pearl. “Are you alright?” She asked gently.

“Yes. Thank you. How did you do that.”

“It’s something I learnt from a friend. People who shout and bully to get their way are scared. Once they know it won’t work on you they pretty much instantly cave.”

“Did the pearl on Earth teach you that.”

“No, it was another friend, his name is Pilot.”


	16. Morganite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the highest ranked gem present, Morganite has been the one all other gems in the waste reclamation plant have been looking to. It has been driving her to the brink. Miraculously, her beloved diamond has returned, with new insight and a new weapon...

As he was led down a side corridor and his vision of Connie was lost, his attention turned to the gem leading him. “Where are we going?”

They passed a side passage with eight cubbies built into the walls. They stopped at a side door. “Moss Agate has granted me her office for use as my private quarters. I apologise for the substandard conditions.” Morganite pressed a button by the door to open it and guided Steven inside.

The office was small but bathed in a bright green light. The room was furnished only with a utilitarian desk, a chair that more resembled an hourglass shaped stool with a back rest, and a receptacle containing variously coloured chunks of masonry. The desk seemed oddly decorated compared to the sparsity of the room; along with an inactive computer terminal were what looked like multi-coloured chess pieces, except the pieces seemed to have different hairstyles and gem shaped indents carved onto their person. “You’re a carver?” Steven questioned.

“Oh, it’s just how I’m keeping track of who’s on our side.” Morganite explained. “Would you care to take a seat my Steven?” She gestured to the one chair politely.

“Thank you.” Steven sat in the chair, momentarily taken off guard when he found it span, and took a closer look at the pieces. Each one seemed to represent a gem he had seen by its colour, hairstyle, gem placement, and relative size. He could pick out Moss Agate, the rubies and quartzes, Peridot, and even Morganite herself and her pearl. The only one piece he couldn’t link to a specific gem, an orange piece that represented the piece for the jasper except it’s gem was placed higher up. It lay on it’s side away from the other pieces.

“I suppose I should make one for you now you’re here.” Morganite grabbed a chunk of pink rubble from the receptacle and slammed it against the table. The outer layer fell away to reveal a piece with Steven’s gem placement and thick curly hair. She placed the piece next to her own. He noticed she had made the piece taller than hers, a relative hight closer to his mother than himself.

“Connie’s here too.” Steven pointed out, hoping to have found an interest to relate to Morganite with.

“Oh, of course.” She repeated the process with a rather plain grey piece of rock, making a smaller piece with Connie’s distinctive puffy hair. She placed it among the rubies’ pieces. “Now then, onto business.”

“Yes.” Steven agreed. “What’s happened on Homeworld since I was gone?”

“It all started at your ball. I’m sorry I couldn’t be in attendance, I had duties to attend to.”

“It’s fine. Go on.”

“When White Diamond’s pearl invaded your ball and you and the other diamonds escaped, an order was put out that the three of you were to be shattered on sight.” Morganite clasped her hands together. “I-I couldn’t do it. I could never betray you. Not after losing you the first time.” She started to shake.

“Morganite, are you alright?” Steven got out of the seat and came around the desk to put a gentle hand on her.

Morganite took a deep breath. “I’m alright my Diamond, I mean my Steven.” She supressed her emotions and continued. “Thankfully, Moss Agate seems to have similar feelings toward Yellow Diamond, so we fabricated a reasonable excuse for me to stay here rather than attend White Diamond’s concert.”

“White plays music?”

“N-No my Steven. It was a meeting where elite gems such as myself were to be given their roles in your capture and shattering. It seems that it was a trap. My reports suggest that the gems that attended were the first brought under White’s direct control.”

“Wait, how are you getting reports?” Steven inquired.

Morganite picked up the two purple and two orange pieces. “I sent the quartzes to the surface a while ago. It was horrible. Innocent gems were being destabilised on mass and taken away in dropships, all of the speakers were playing ‘Submit yourself to the one true Diamond! Submit yourself to the Silver Duchess!’ on loop.” She plucked one of the orange pieces out of her hand. “I sent four quartzes to the surface. Only three returned.” She put the piece down and observed the purple piece with the gem cut into its midsection. “I suspect she and 4VF were unusually close. It would explain her outbursts.”

“That’s terrible!” Steven exclaimed.

“I know my Steven.” Morganite sympathised. “I would have punished such fraternisation retroactively, but we couldn’t afford to lose the gempower.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Steven argued. “It must be horrible to lose somebody you love that much.”

Morganite blinked. “I wasn’t aware love was an emotion lesser gems even knew about.” Far from being vindictive, Morganite’s tone suggested honest surprise.

“Everybody can feel love. Maybe they don’t know the word for it, but they can definitely feel it.”

“How enlightening.” Morganite nodded. “Your wisdom inspires me my Steven.”

“Thanks?” Steven replied, trying to detect sarcasm. “Anyway, what happened since then?”

“We’ve been hiding down here. It seems that the waste reclamation plant is beneath White Diamond’s notice. If the deliveries start taking too long to be sorted, the local computer automatically calls for an investigative unit to be sent here, but so long as nothing goes majorly wrong, we’ll be safe.” She took a small breath as her fear started to seep through. “I was only meant to be here for a three rotation inspection period. I’ve been here more than three times as long!” Suddenly, the towering Morganite collapsed into a foetal position and started crying. “I’m so sorry my Steven! I’m cracking up down here!”

Steven gave her a hug and tried to soothe her. “It’s alright, it’s going to be over soon. Connie and I came back with Yellow, Blue, and some friends of ours to fix this. Soon, things will be even better than before, I promise.”

“But how? How could things have gotten so bad in three rotations? Why would White change so quickly?”

“The Silver Duchess.”

“What? Who is that? The Quartzes heard her mentioned but couldn’t find any information on who she was.”

“She’s the reason White Diamond is doing all this. She’s controlling her.”

“What sort of gem would have the power to control White Diamond?” Asked Morganite.

“She’s not a gem, she’s a kelmep.”

“A what?”

“They sort of look like grey humans with pointed ears.”

“Ears?”

“These.” Steven touched his ears before pinching them to make them look pointed. “Anyway, she’s controlling White with this thing called a black spindle. Oh!” Steven stood suddenly. “That reminds me!” Steven took his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. Though he felt ok, he was overdue to hand the black spindle over to Connie.

Morganite stood and peered to look at the phone screen. She recoiled in shock. “The Silver Duchess!”

“What?” Steven looked at the photo on his lock screen and realised the mistake. “Oh! That isn’t her. That’s Pilot, he’s a good kelmep. The Silver Duchess’ skin and hair is lighter than his.”

Morganite gave a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank the stars.”

Steven glanced toward the door, considering if he should excuse himself for a minute to go hand the spindle to Connie. He decided that he did not want to leave Morganite alone while she was so fragile. “Do you mind if I put something on your desk for a few minutes?”

“Of course not, my Steven.”

Steven took the bubbled spindle out of his pocket and placed it on the desk. If he couldn’t shuttle the heart over to his girlfriend, he could at least keep it away from his person.

From the moment it was revealed, Morganite’s eyes followed the heart. “Is that…”

“Yeah, this is the black spindle” Steven came back to the gem. “Connie and I are trying to find a way to destroy it.”

Morganite nodded solemnly as her gem started to glow. “Allow me.” Before Steven recognised what she had said, Morganite had stepped past him while drawing a short, thick sceptre topped with a heavy, diamond-shaped ornament. As Steven turned, Morganite delivered two almighty blows upon the black spindle. The first blow popped Steven’s bubble, the second hammered the heart into the desk.

“Wait!”

“My Steven?” Morganite lowered her sceptre to observe her handiwork. The spindle was undamaged. “How?” She reached a shaking hand for it.

Steven interposed his arm. “That won’t work. According to Pilot, it can only be destroyed by high heat and pressure or with radiation.”

Morganite’s fingers curled angrily for a moment as Steven’s arm blocked them. To mask it, Morganite turned away, placing her finger on her chin thoughtfully. “Well, the light fluid in the solar power plant would provide all of that.”

“Really?” Steven grinned. “That’s great! If we can get the black spindle there and destroy it, we can free White from Roxillan’s control.”

“Yes.” Morganite considered. “There’s an elevator into the power plant accessible from the passageways…” She drifted off for a second as the sight of the heart caught the corner of her eye. “But, my Steven, are you sure this is wise?”

“Am I sure what is wise?”

“Destroying this artifact.” Morganite elaborated, staring at it openly. “I mean, if it is capable of controlling one as powerful as White Diamond, imagine the good we could do now that we have it.”

“It doesn’t work like that.” Steven interposed himself between the gem and the spindle.

Morganite forced herself to keep a pleasant smile and a reasonable tone. “But with power over White Diamond, the two of us could make Homeworld better than it was before!”

“All this thing does is try to make people who hold it do what the Silver Duchess wants them to do. There’s no ‘using’ it, it only serves her.”

“How do you know?”

“It’s what Pilot told me.” Steven explained.

“And you believe them?” Morganite retorted, slightly more aggressively than she had intended. “She’s the same species as the Duchess! You said so! They’re probably in league, trying to prevent you from utilising this resource!”

“I’ve known Pilot for a long time,” Steven reasoned calmly, “he would never betray me for Roxillan.”

“I see,” Morganite backpedalled, “but still, maybe she can’t control it, but we’re gems. We’re conquerors! With our intelligence and might, there’s nothing we can’t bend to our will!”

“It isn’t worth the risk. The spindle wants to make people worse, not better.”

“My Steven, who would you trust, some alien or a fellow gem like me?”

Steven glanced away uncomfortably. “I’ve known Pilot for longer…”

“Wha?” Confusion and upset broke Morganite’s concentration on the black spindle. “But managed all your events for four thousand years. I even put my stone on the line to let you sneak in organics!” She knelt down. “You don’t even remember me?”

Feeling awful, Steven took her hands. “This is hard to explain. Pink Diamond is, was my mom.”

“Your what?”

“She gave up her physical form so I could exist. I’m her son. I don’t have her memories but I’m doing my best to fix what she left behind. I’m sorry.”

“I-It’s not fair…” She whimpered. “I thought I was finally going to be able to stop inspecting places like this and arrange celebrations for her again.”

“It’s going to be alright.” Steven told her. “When this is all over, gems will be able to do what they want.”

“Can I organise events for you?” She asked tearfully.

“Sure!” He gave her a hopeful smile. “Once we’ve saved Homeworld we probably should have a party to celebrate.”

“I-I look forward to it Steven.” Though tears ran down her cheeks still, Morganite mirrored Steven’s expression. “To celebrate our victory…”

“It’ll be fun.” Steven turned around to bubble the black spindle again.

Morganite gripped her sceptre. “… I must assure it.”

Steven felt a sudden impact on the back of his head, and everything went dark.


	17. Chaos and Elevators

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pilot and Axia have eluded capture and sent their pursuers through a loop. Now focused on saving their friends, mother and son must work together to infiltrate the solar plant.

The dropship’s counterthrusters screamed as they brought the ship to a sudden stop. The side doors opened, and a squadron of uncoloured quartzes leapt out, bursting through the window of Sapphire Spire Delta.

The quartzes got to their feet, instantly drawing their weapons. “Surrender Pilot!” The lead quartz yelled. “You aren’t getting away this ti-! Where is she?”

There was a collective groan from the other quartzes.

“Shut it!” Their leader snapped. She peered around the room, spotting several clusters of whitened rubies. “Your Clarities, are you safe?”

The defensive walls formed by the rubies loosened to allow the white sapphires they had been protecting from the shattering glass to step out. “You have arrived.” Said one.

“As we predicted.” Another followed. “We are unharmed.”

“Where’s the Pilot?”

The sapphires glanced at each other with well-hidden confusion. “The Pilot is not here. Indeed, he is not fated to visit this spire.”

“You have been sent to the wrong location.”

“But you mustn’t fear. We have predicted the location they are heading for, if you move quickly you may catch them.”

“Not again!” A quartz complained.

“I said shut it!” The lead quartz shouted. In truth, she was equally exasperated. For the past hour and a half, they had been following the predictions of sapphires from spire to spire trying to catch Pilot. First he was is Spire Gamma searching the phrase ‘Cute Pizza Girls in My Area’ on all the computers, then he was in Spire Beta attempting to convince the sapphires there to marry their ruby guards, then he had been predicted to be headed for Spire Epsilon to invent a dance called the Pilotusi, and so on. Each time they had arrived, the sapphires there had informed them that not only had Pilot not arrived, but that according to their future vison, he had never been destined to do so and never would. The cycle was driving them insane. “I’m sorry your Clarities, where is he headed?”

“Spire Alpha.” The sapphire replied. “He is going to hack the speaker system to repeat a message.”

“What’s the message?”

The sapphire put her fingers to her head to concentrate. “Ha ha, you rockheads. I have been messing with your Sapphires’ future visions and am currently behind you.”

The quartzes turned, raising their weapons.

“Made you look.” The sapphire continued. “Anyway, see you at the power plant, suckers. P.S. Sapphire, do all sapphires secretly think that their guards are good looking as heck or is my pal Sapphy the only one of yous with taste?”

Eye’s wide with confusion and fury the lead quartz turned on her platoon. “To the plant!” She bellowed.

“But the intruder is at Spire Alpha!” A sapphire complained, stubbornly incapable of imagining her future vison could be wrong.

Another shook her head, pointing to the departing dropship. “They’re already gone.”

On the opposite side of the Palatial Facet, Pilot was almost at his destination. Running along the side of buildings, grinding on his heels along railings and swinging gaps with his ribbon, he had quickly left the dark slums below to find himself back in the illuminated facet overtop.

“Why did we take a detour through the Spires District?” Axia asked.

“To give the Sapphires a headache.” Pilot replied.

“Good thinking.” His mother commended. “By sending troops after the false futures your unpredictability creates, they’ll limit Roxillan’s resources.”

“Oh, yeah! That too!”

“We’re approaching the solar plant!” Axia announced.

Pilot threw a dart into a surveillance robanoid as he passed. “What do you see?”

Through the dart, Axia hacked into the machine, causing it to fly on ahead and stream its camera feed to Pilot’s glasses. “There’s still quite a large force waiting outside.”

Pilot nodded at the ring of quartz soldiers forming a perimeter around the tower. “Now how do I… Aha! We’re taking the bold approach, mum!”

At the outer rim of the defensive perimeter an agate kept watch. She had been given a highly important role, she was in charge of one of five units, one hundred and fifty quartzes strong each, responsible for keeping the Pilot out of the solar power plant and away from the Silver Duchess. She personally thought that all this defence against one little alien was excessive, but she would do her job well.

“Hello!” A cheery voice called.

The agate looked in the direction of the voice with amazement. Standing just under fifty feet away stood Pilot, waving at them. The agate drew a spiked morningstar from her gem and raised her free hand. “On my signal, gems! You can’t win Pilot! Its seven hundred and fifty five against one. Surender now and the Silver Duchess may-!” She side stepped a dart Pilot threw in her direction. “So that’s how it is. Char-!”

Pilot’s hand gripped the agate’s face as he leapfrogged over her, slapping her back on the way down. Past their leader, Pilot ran into the charging quartzes. As he dashed among the crowd, never in one place for long enough to get pinned in a fight he dropped small keychain lights which glowed the same blue as his warp suit.

In the mad rush of the melee, the quartzes almost instantly lost track of him. “Where’d they go?”

“Get back here!”

“They’ve turned back around!”

“I’ve got them!”

“That’s my leg! THAT’S MY LEG!!”

“Sorry!”

“Watch where you’re swinging that thing!”

The agate shook her head despondently before wading into the chaos. “They’re just one little alien!” She wailed. “Somebody just grab him!”

“There he is!” A quartz cried.

Ten quartzes tackled their agate from behind. “We’ve got them!” One cheered, ripping the self-portrait Pilot had posted on the agate’s back from her. “Wait…”

By the tower, away from the madness he had started, Pilot wondered over to an elevator door, the control panel pierced by his dart. Axia hacked the elevator open for him and he strolled inside.

“Good job.” Axia told him as the elevator hummed into life, taking them up.

“Good hacking.” He replied. “How long’s this ride gonna take?”

“About a minute, this is quite a tall building.”

Pilot nodded and leant against the wall.

Suddenly the elevator shook and came to a sudden stop.

“What was that? Are we there?” Asked Pilot.

“Not yet.” Axia answered. “It seems Roxillan knows we’re here. She’s physically cut the power to the elevator tracks above and below us.”

“How could she-?” Pilot spied a security camera in the corner of the elevator. “Shit. Mum, cut Roxy’s access to the building’s communications and security.”

“Done.”

“Alright.” Pilot turned to the doors. “How does it look out there?”

Axia brought up an image from a camera on the other side of the door. It showed a crossroads of two corridors. “It appears that she has installed a squadron of quartzes and rubies to apprehend you.”

Pilot nodded, shifting his attention to a boxy device on a tripod, two prongs crackling with energy pointed at the elevator. “That looks like a weapon.”

“It appears to be some sort of sentry turret, entirely rotatable and capable a blasting a target with destabilising energy from one hundred and twenty feet.”

“Destabilising?” Pilot questioned. “So, we can ignore it?”

“It seems this one has been modified to disintegrate. It is wired into the building’s power grid though.”

“You can access it?”

“Restoring destabilising features as we speak.”

Pilot smiled before noticing something else. “Hello? Are those gem destabilisers?”

“It appears to be a charging rack.” Axia confirmed.

“Charged gem destabilisers.” He grinned, taking out a water bottle. “Let’s do this.”

In the hallway quartzes stood by the turret. “Come on Pilot, there’s nowhere to run!”

“Why aren’t they coming out?” A ruby wondered aloud.

Suddenly the light went out, plunging them into darkness.

The soldiers lit up their gems. “A power outage?” A ruby theorised.

“In a power plant!?” A quartz retorted crossly. “Crack this! I used to be part of organic control; I’m going in after this thing! Cover me!”

The angry quartz and a few of her compatriots approached the elevator. She produced an ice axe from her gem and drove its point into the crack between the doors, levering them apart. They shone their gems inside.

“They’re gone!”

“They can’t be!” The quartz shook her head. “Where would they have gone.”

They stepped into the elevator. “Ah!” The ruby in front exclaimed.

“What is it?”

“The floor’s wet.”

The quartz from organic control shook her head. “Organics sometimes produce liquids when they’re frightened.”

“Disgusting.”

They entered farther.

“They really messed up this panel.” Another quartz observed, pointing her light to a wall panel taken off its fittings with the wires behind them torn out.

More gems entered to investigate.

“Wait, up there.” The gems turned their attention to the ceiling, one of the panels had been removed and improperly shifted back.

“Give me a boost.” A ruby offered.

At that moment, the lights came back on, illuminating one wire from the removed panel that trailed into the puddle the gems in the elevator stood in.

Pilot shook his head at the sounds of panic and destabilising gems behind him as the wire went live, before continuing his crawl through the vent above the gems who remained. Suddenly he heard another noise. He turned over to see a ruby behind him shaking with fury.

“You…” Slowly, she reached for her gem, located on her cheek. She drew a hatchet.

“Well, aren’t you the cutest little axe murderer.” Pilot began to scramble backwards.

The ruby crawled up to him, panting with increasing aggression. With a furious yell, she leapt on him.

Pilot caught the gem’s arms, but she was stronger than him. He headbutted her to keep her off kilter. “Mum!”

With the sound of energy blasting from underneath them, the vent around them disintegrated.

Pilot swiftly switched his grip to hold the gem by either side of her squarish hair. He started to roll, rapidly spinning her with him as they fell. “ ** _Twister…_** ” With aid from the warp, Pilot accelerated his roll immensely in the short distance he had to fall. Less than half a foot from the floor, Pilot shifted his weight. “ ** _Break!_** ” The ruby’s body slammed into the floor. The sudden stop and force of impact combined with Pilot’s final spin caused her head to twist far enough off model that her physical form gave in.

Pilot got up and leapt to stand atop the turret.

“It’s them!” A quartz exclaimed. “Get he-!”

The turret snapped in her direction, hitting her in the chest and destabilising her instantly.

“They’ve taken over the turret!” A ruby exclaimed.

“Rush them!” A quartz ordered. “It can’t hit all of us!”

As Axia shot down the gems coming in one direction, Pilot whipped out his ribbon. It wrapped around the handle of a gen disabler as he pulled it back in, catching two gems in the back as they charged him. As the weapon entered his hand, he struck down the gem who had reached him before ducking the final assailant’s weapon and jamming it under her arm.

Pilot tossed the gem destabiliser into his free hand and reeled in a second. He looked around at the remaining gems, momentarily stunned by the display. “You know, there’s no shame in running away right now.”

The gems all drew weapons.

“You know, one day I’m going to offer somebody the chance to surrender and they’ll take it.” He shrugged before raising his weapons. “Oh well. En garde!”


	18. Panic Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After finding Steven unconscious and Morganite and the black spindle gone, Connie and Steven must find them to prevent a new lackey of Roxillan from escaping. Pearl has an idea of where her mistress may be hidden and she can lead the way.

Moss Agate paced up to what had previously been her office. She pressed a button on the panel beside the closed door, activating the intercom. “I’m terribly sorry to interrupt you my Diamond, your Brilliance, but the Connie is getting uppity and wished to know how long you’d be.”

No response came from behind the door.

She considered going back and simply telling the human that her diamond was still very busy but a gnawing dread in her gem stopped her. She tapped a button to show a small viewscreen of the room inside. She gasped in horror. She tried to open the door, it was locked. She desperately tapped in her entry key, but the code had been changed. She turned down the corridor and screamed “Peridot! Peridot get down here and open this door at once!”

Seconds later, Peridot arrived at a sprint, followed closely by Morganite’s pearl and Connie. “What’s going on?” The human demanded.

As she pointed Peridot to the door panel, Moss Agate turned the viewscreen so Connie could see it. There on the floor was Steven, laying deathly still, a pool of blood around his head. Morganite was nowhere to be seen. “What happened to her!”

Connie shook her head, the three seconds Peridot had taken so far to open the door were three seconds too many. “Screw this! I’m cutting this door down!” She unravelled her katana and switched to a backward grip, trying to summon forth the power of the Pink Lion’s Song.

“Wait!” Cried Peridot. “I’ve got it!”

The moment the door opened Connie ran to Steven’s side, checking his breathing and his pulse. “He’s alive!” She announced exuberantly. Despite the blood around it, no wound was visible on Steven’s head. “Steven? Can you hear me? Steven!?”

The boy let out a low groan. “Owww…”

“Steven!” Connie exclaimed jubilantly.

“My Diamond!” Moss Agate cried, unceremoniously shoving Connie aside. “Are you alright?”

“What happened?” He squinted upwards.

“I don’t know, we found you like this. Morganite is missing! Do you know where she is?”

“Morganite?” Steven questioned. Suddenly, his eyes bulged. He looked to the desk and scrambled to his feet. “Connie! She has it! I’m sorry!”

“What? What do you mean?”

“The spindle! She has the spindle!”

“Oh crap!” She exclaimed.

“I’m sorry? What does Morganite have?” Asked Moss Agate.

“A black spindle.” Connie explained. “Steven and I were looking for something to destroy it. People exposed to the spindle get all violent and selfish.”

“So Morganite did this to you?” Moss Agate realised. “I’m so sorry my Diamond!”

Steven didn’t seem to notice as he looked down shamefully. “It’s all my fault. I’m sorry Connie, I messed up our part of the mission. I should have just given you the spindle but I-.”

Connie took Steven’s hands in hers. “I’m only upset that you got hurt! I’m so glad you’re alright.”

“But, the spindle…”

“Morganite can’t have gotten far. We’ll get it back, together.” She hugged him close.

“Together.” He squeezed her back and they vanished in a flash of light.

Moss Agate gasped. “My Diamond! You can’t- w-with an organic!” her plait covered Pearl’s eyes, shielding them from the fusion.

“Let’s find Morganite!” Announced Stevonnie, ignoring her. “Let’s see. Morganite just struck down Steven and is looking for a way to take on White.”

“I-I-.” Pearl stammered, trying to push Moss Agate’s hair out of her face.

“B-But that’s impossible!” Peridot exclaimed.

“But she thinks it’s possible. She’ll want somewhere to lie low, hope I’ll forget about her and move on. She’ll also be looking to amass soldiers and weapons.

“I think I know a place!” Pearl shouted, finally free from the serpentine ponytail.

Moss Agate glared at her.

“Sorry.” She looked to her toes.

“No wait!” Stevonnie assured her. “What were you saying?”

“I think I know where she might be.” Pearl explained. “There are a series of panic rooms set up in the tunnels for elite gems in case of insurrection. Their entrances are hidden and they are stocked with short and mid-ranged gem destabilisers. My Morganite probably remembers the location of the closest one even though its one of my duties to remember them for her.”

“Great!” The fusion smiled. “Lead on!”

“Okay.”

“I’ll mobilise the other gems.” Moss Agate announced.

“No.” Stevonnie replied. “I need to at least try talking her out of it, we can’t use force immediately. Besides, the more gems come with me, the more likely one of you will fall under the spindle’s control. I need you to stay here to contact me if Morganite comes back.”

“Yes my Diamond.”

“I should come with you!” Peridot exclaimed suddenly.

Stevonnie looked to her. “Hm?”

Slightly intimidated, Peridot tapped her robotic fingers together. “Well, this panic room probably has a lock that needs hacking. B-Besides Moss Agate already has the communication code for my limb enhancers.”

“Right. You can come too.” Stevonnie went to step out of the room before suddenly remembering themselves. They turned around, scooping up Connie’s trainers and Steven’s sandals. They held the footwear out to Moss Agate. “Can you look after these for me? If Connie loses another pair of shoes this month, the next pair is coming out of her allowance.”

“Of course.” Moss Agate confusedly took the shoes.

With shoes taken care of, Pearl lead Stevonnie and Peridot away through the corridors.

“Is the panic room far Pearl?” Stevonnie enquired at a crossroads.

“It is a little way.” She replied.

“Aha!” Peridot suddenly exclaimed behind them.

Stevonnie turned, producing their longsword in case of ambush. “Peridot?”

Peridot raised her limb enhancers defensively, the levitating fingers of her right hand arranged in a pyramidal formation. “I’m sorry!”

“No, no, I’m sorry for scaring you, I thought you were under attack. What is it?”

Peridot lowered her arms and gestured to her arranged fingers. “I knew my limb enhancers were equipped with a blast cannon, I just figured out how to activate it. I’ll take point.” She glanced over to Pearl and smiled unconsciously. “To protect you.”

Pearl blushed.

Suddenly, Peridot realised what she had implied. “By which I obviously mean you my Dimond, Nyeh heh…” She laughed uncomfortably. “I-I mean what sort of p-peridot would I be to forsake a diamond to protect a p-pearl.”

Pearl gave an almost invisible frown of resignation.

Stevonnie shook their head. “A friend of mine once said that when deciding who to protect, you can’t always think, sometimes, you just have to feel. Who do you feel you should protect?”

“Your rank is far superior to either of-.”

“Feel.”

Peridot closed her eyes. “Feel…” The disembodied fingers of her free mechanical hand interlocked with the slender, natural fingers of Pearl. “Stay close. I’ll keep you safe.”

“A-Alright. Thank you.”

Peridot’s eyes snapped open as she blushed a luminous lime green. “N-No problem.” She pointed her blast cannon down into the unknown. “This way.”

Pearl embarrassedly pointed down a different corridor. “The panic room is that way.”

“R-Right.” Peridot nodded blushing harder. “A-Are you sure you don’t need me to protect you too my Diamond?”

“I can look after myself.” Stevonnie summoned her shield and took point to emphasise. Walking slightly ahead also hid their expression. “I can’t believe that worked.” The thought to themselves. “I just stole that line from Destiny’s End, the bes- wors- most hotly debated book in the whole Spirit Morph Saga! How did I- I mean Steven become the leader of the Crystal Gems.”

They peeped back at the gems behind them.

“A-Am I holding you hand too hard?”

“No, I like- I mean, it’s ok.”

“For somebody who is recovering from half a concussion,” Stevonnie considered, “I make a pretty good wingman.”

The twisting corridors seemed to lead nowhere. As much as Stevonnie looked for signs or directions that could relate to a panic room, none presented themselves.

“Here it is.” Pearl said suddenly.

Peridot and Stevonnie looked around, they were in a long, empty expanse of hallway. “The panic room’s here?” Peridot questioned, pointing her blast cannon into any dark corner she could see.

“Yes.” Pearl released Peridot’s hand and began feeling along the left wall. Suddenly she stopped. With a gentle push, the section of wall sank back and down into the floor, revealing a large blast door and an access panel. “This is the nearest panic room my Morganite is aware of.”

“So she’s in there?” Peridot asked apprehensively.

“Possibly, she may have went for one farther away.”

“How would we know?” Peridot lamented. “It could take rotations for me to hack open every door!”

Stevonnie noticed what looked like a camera above the door. “Pearl, is this the only way out of the panic room.”

“Yes.”

Stevonnie nodded to the access panel. “Peridot, get started.”

Peridot began trying to hack the door open.

Stevonnie stepped up to the door and banged on it. “Morganite! Open this door! You’ve got to listen to me!”

The device Stevonnie had mistaken for a camera lit up and fired a barrage of energy pulses.

Stevonnie lifted their shield, deflecting the shots. “I think she’s here!”

The assault ceased and the device projected a holographic screen displaying Morganite. “Go away!” She was holding the black spindle. “Who are yo-?” She spied the gem on Stevonnie’s stomach. “My Di- Steven!” She pressed the spindle to her chest and there was a brief pink flash, a minor transformation to create a chamber in which to safely store the heart. “W-What do you want?”

“I need you to open the door!” Stevonnie pleaded. “I just want to talk!”

“Is that why you’re waving a sword about?”

Stevonnie looked down at their blade and regretfully allowed it to collapse into paper ribbons.

“And the shield!” Morganite demanded.

Stevonnie looked up through the shield at the blaster still pointed at them. “You did just shoot at me.” They reasoned. “And you hit Steven over the head.”

“I had to!” Morganite stormed.

“Why?”

“Because you aren’t willing to take the opportunity we’ve been presented with!”

“The spindle isn’t an opportunity! It’s hurting you!”

“It hurt you Steven! It hurt you because you were weak!” She shouted back. Tears began to form. “My Diamond is gone because of you! I’m not making the Great Morganite Authority because I want to control all this! I’m doing this in her memory!”

“What are you going to do? Take on White single handed with a few gem destabilisers? Pink Diamond wouldn’t want you to throw your life away like this! I don’t want you throwing your life away like this!” A tear fell down Stevonnie’s cheek. “Just come out, give me the spindle, and we’ll all talk through the plan together.”

“I don’t need your plan! I’m going to make Homeworld everything she wanted it to be! Just you wait and see!”

Peridot cleared her throat quietly. “I can’t hack through myself, but I’ve found an override switch that need’s a scan of an elite gem.”

Stevonnie nodded remorsefully. “Morganite! We’re coming in, if you don’t hand over the spindle we’ll have to poof you! I’m sorry!”

“Leave me alone!” With a panicked expression, Morganite shut down the holographic screen.

Stevonnie looked down sadly. “I’m sorry.” They repeated. “I really messed that up.”

“It’s not your fault.” Pearl insisted quietly. “Morganite has always been a… a…”

“Thick-headed clod?” Peridot suggested.

“I… wouldn’t have said it like that…” Pearl responded. “But yes. I don’t think anyone has ever truly convinced her to abandon a project she’s thought of. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” Stevonnie shrugged. “It’s not like you could have changed her mind, it doesn’t seem like she listens to you either.”

“No.” Pearl admitted. “What self-respecting gem takes advice from her pearl?”

“Pink Diamond did.” Stevonnie smiled. “I think at least half her strategies in the gem war were made by her pearl.”

“Wait! So you really aren’t Pink Diamond!” Peridot realised. “I thought that was just the spindle making Morganite crazy! How are we going to get through this door?”

“I have her gem.” Stevonnie pointed to their stomach. “Steven is Pink Diamond’s son.”

“Son?”

“She made him.”

“Like how Connie’s parents made her?” Pearl estimated.

“Yeah.” Stevonnie answered. “Now then, where’s this scanner?”


	19. Pearl Defects

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morganite's Pearl behaves correctly, until she doesn’t.

Stevonnie presented their stomach to a small lens. the device scanned their gem and some gem glyphs flashed on the screen.

“It worked!” The pigtailed peridot announced.

With the confirmation attained Stevonnie leaped back in front of the opening blast door, shield raised, and sword drawn. Beside them stood Peridot, pointing her limb enhancer’s blast cannon at the entrance. Morganite’s pearl took cover behind her.

The door opened, revealing darkness. “She must have switched off the power.” Peridot observed.

“Can we switch it back on?” The fusion asked.

Some of Peridot’s free fingers flew over to the door’s control panel. They tapped a few buttons before returning. “Doesn’t look like it. This terminal seems to only be connected to the door.”

“Alright.” Stevonnie nodded. The trio lit up their gems. “Morganite!” Stevonnie announced. “We’re coming in! Turn the lights back on!”

They stepped into the room. Stevonnie and Peridot formed a back to back formation, protecting Pearl in the middle as they scanned the area with their lights. The room was full of tables, cabinets, and charging racks holding various kinds of gem destabilisers, the furnishings also provided plenty of places for even Morganite’s tall frame to hide from their spotlights.

“Morganite?” Stevonnie called out.

“What’s this?”

“Peridot?”

“I think I’ve found the power switch.”

As the lights came back on, they flickered into darkness twice. Outside the panic room, whole buildings flickered briefly into darkness.

On the first flicker, Stevonnie flinched as a bolt of energy rippled harmlessly off their organic skin. On the second, Peridot’s gem and limb enhancers crashed to the ground.

“Peridot!” Pearl fell to her knees and began to dig through the mechanical parts in search of the fallen gem.

Stevonnie turned to the source of the shots.

There stood Morganite, haggard, dumbfounded, and horrified. In one hand she held her sceptre. Her other hand held a device reminiscent of a yellow pistol, except the barrel was replaced by the crackling prongs of a gem destabiliser. Out of the back trailed a wire that snaked its way into the far wall. The weapon sparked haphazardly and smoked profusely, pushed way past its intended capacity.

“H-How…” Morganite gasped. “How are you still standing? I put the entire local power grid through this destabiliser! No gem could withstand that! Not even a diamond!”

Stevonnie stared her down. “That isn’t going to work on me.” They stated firmly. “Give me the black spindle.”

Morganite dropped the destabiliser and raised her sceptre. “I’d sooner shatter.”

Stevonnie raised their blade with a shake of their head. “You don’t mean that.”

“Don’t you dare doubt my conviction!” Morganite glanced behind the fusion. “Pearl.”

Pearl froze just as she uncovered Peridot’s gem. “Yes, your Brilliance?”

“We can salvage parts from that Peridot’s limb enhancers once the present threat has been dealt with. For now, to me!” She clapped her hand on her wrist.

“Pearl isn’t yours to order around any m-!”

Pearl walked past Stevonnie as they spoke.

“Pearl?” They questioned. “You don’t have to go to her, you can be free! Please!”

Pearl looked back with tears and regret in her eyes. “I’m sorry.” She went to her mistress.

“You shall serve me well in my rulership.” Morganite leered. “Stop crying.”

“Y-Yes your Brilliance.”

“I ought to be ashamed of myself!” Morganite bellowed at Stevonnie. “It seems even a Pearl can see it better than I could at first! I should have known before I even fired at you! You aren’t my Diamond! You aren’t even a gem.”

“Three quarters human.” Stevonnie replied. “It took you this long to notice?”

“Listen to that human chitter Pearl.” She mocked. “Whatever could it be saying?”

“Fine.” Stevonnie waved their shield arm dismissively in Morganite’s direction. They turned a kinder gaze onto the other gem. “Pearl I-.”

“And it goes on!” Morganite announced. “On and on with its meaningless squawking!”

“I wasn’t talking to you, so shut it.” Stevonnie snapped tersely. “Pearl, I’m sorry I-!”

“We simply must find a way to silence it!” Morganite interrupted again. “It is starting to give me a headac-!” Morganite only just caught the shield Stevonnie threw at her and, to her surprise, its force was still great enough to send her careening into a wall. The shield disappeared and Morganite looked up in terror at the fusion brimming with cold fury.

“Shut. Your. Mouth.” Stevonnie stared Morganite down for a few seconds to make sure she had been silenced. They took a deep breath to calm themselves. “Pearl, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I took advantage you to lead me here, I’m sorry I made you come back to Morganite, I’m sorry I brought Peridot on this dangerous mission with us, and I’m sorry I didn’t protect her. Right now, I’m sorry I tried to force you to change so quickly from the only life you’ve ever known.” Their straight longsword shifted into their curved greatsword as Stevonnie altered their grip. “But I’m going to make it up to you right now! I’m going to save Morganite from the black spindle and save you from Morganite! When all this is over you and Peridot will be able to live the lives you want to, I’ll make sure of it!”

Pearl’s eyes widened with emotion, she dared not voice her response, but her face showed Stevonnie all the confirmation they needed.

Morganite drew a second sceptre. “That peridot is shards in waiting, and you are dead!” Swinging both sceptres, Morganite struck a nearby concrete table, sending the destabilisers resting atop it and torso sized chunks of rubble flying toward the fusion.

Stevonnie narrowed their profile and held out their arm, catching a chunk.

With a yell, Morganite leapt, striking downward with both weapons.

The sceptres met the concrete, smashing it to smithereens but failing to harm the fusion holding it. Stevonnie returned both hands to their sword and swung upward. As Morganite dodged the slash, Stevonnie stepped back, maximising the benefit of their superior reach before bringing their blade down.

Morganite crossed her sceptres above her head to catch the strike. Lowering one weapon, she closed the gap, only for Stevonnie to land a swift kick to the chest.

Morganite rolled across the floor looking up at the fusion approaching to finish her. “I-I’m sorry!”

Stevonnie paused.

Morganite dismissed her weapons. “I-I don’t know what’s come over me! I-It’s this thing!” She took the black spindle out from her chest. “You were right! Take it! Please! My pearl too! She deserves a better owner than me!” She held the heart out towards Stevonnie in both hands.

Stevonnie shrunk their weapon back down to a longsword and approached her. They reached out to take the heart.

Morganite lunged, grabbing Stevonnie’s wrist and punching them in the diaphragm before tossing them across the room.

Stevonnie gasped and coughed up a small amount of blood, winded. They reached for their sword. It turned and slid across the floor toward them, its hilt sliding neatly into their outstretched hand. Morganite’s dress engulfed the blade as she put her weight on it. Stevonnie looked up at the gem as she summoned a new sceptre. “You know, I was going to allow Steven and her pet to live on in Pink Diamond’s zoo.” She mused. “After all, my Diamond created Steven, there must be some benefit to keeping you. But you almost had me, you are clearly not worth the risk.” She rose the sceptre’s diamond-shaped head. “Goodbye.”

Before Stevonnie could roll out of the way, yellow sparks erupted from Morganite’s back. Morganite spasmed as lines of yellow light cut her physical form apart. As Morganite destabilised, Stevonnie saw Pearl standing behind where she had stood, gripping a gem destabiliser hard enough for her violet knuckles to turn white.

Stevonnie stood up. “Pearl…”

“I-I couldn’t let her shatter Peridot.” She squeaked.

“Y-Yeah.” Stevonnie sensed rising emotion.

“What have I done!” She screamed.

“You saved me!” Stevonnie told her, reaching out a comforting arm.

“Don’t touch me, I’m defective! I’m a rouge pearl! I’m no better than the renegade! I used a destabiliser against my Morganite! I assaulted my owner!”

“It’s going to be ok.” Stevonnie soothed. “It’s not like you shattered her, she’ll be ok.”

“I-I need to be replaced.”

“What?”

Pearl took a few steps back before falling to her knees. She turned the destabiliser towards herself. “I-I’m a danger to gem society and have no place in it. I-I need to be put away and forgotten.”

“Stop!” Stevonnie leapt, snatching the weapon away and snapping it. They knelt down in front of her and put hand on her shoulder. “Protecting me and Peridot doesn’t make you wrong or dangerous. I think you’re very brave.”

Instantly, Pearl fell forward and began weeping into the fusion’s chest. She cried for almost ten minutes as they tried to comfort her. “What do I do? Morganite will never let me serve her after this! Nobody will! Where is there for an ownerless-” Her eyes widened. “Earth…”

“You want to come back to Earth with me?”

“Can Peridot come?”

“If she wants to.”

Pearl left Stevonnie’s gentle hold to collect Peridot’s gem. Stevonnie turned to pick up their sword, Morganite’s gem, and the black spindle, bubbling the heart before picking it up. They glanced between the last two items. “I should probably keep these apart.” The fusion relaxed and split, sword and spindle in Connie’s hands, the gem in Steven’s.

Connie allowed the blade to transfer itself back into wrappings around her hand as she turned around and stopped. “Pearl?”

Pearl was facing them, ready to leave. In one hand she clutched Peridot’s gem, holding it close to her chest, the other held a new gem destabiliser.

“What are you doing with that?” Steven questioned, concerned.

“I-I want to stay with you until we get to Earth. It could be dangerous, I wanted to protect myself.”

“Alright.” Steven accepted. “But you can’t try to use it on yourself again, what would Peridot say?”

Pearl nodded. “I won’t.”

“Okay. Let’s get back to the others.” Connie lead them out.


	20. Ring Toss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With nothing else to do, The rubies and quartzes of the waste reclaimation centre blow off some steam. Watching from the shadows, Moss Agate decided that desperate times call for a radical change in her style of management. An agate terrifies, but the Duchess terrifies more so.

Moss Agate tapped her foot on the cold metal floor, with few orders besides “stay here” she had taken the initiative and set the gems under her to continue sorting through the refuse delivery.

“Are you feeling alright Moss Agate?” Asked Jasper.

“I’m in perfect condition.” She stated. “Why?”

“It’s just you haven’t shouted at anyone since you came back from checking on Pink Diamond.”

“Humph.” Remembering her Diamond’s words, Moss Agate was refraining from raising her voice to the other gems. It was a precarious position, on emerging Moss Agate had been taught that an agate terrifies, it was the leadership style she had drilled into her before even leaving the kindergarten, without it she felt sure this place would spiral into chaos eventually.

“Don’t complain about Mossy not yelling.” One of the amethysts said quietly.

“What was that?” Moss Agate snapped.

“Here we go.” The quartz murmured.

Moss Agate’s lip curled into a familiar snarl. She paused, she noticed that the quartzes had been working at acceptable levels right up until she had started to lose her temper. The revelation ran against all her teachings. She thought quickly. This discovery deserved farther investigation and desperate times such as these warranted radical new approaches. “No, no, I’m just curious. What did you refer to me as? Mossy was it?”

“Yeah?” Amethyst replied uncertainly. “We call you it sometimes, for short.”

“I’ve never heard any of you refer to me as such before.”

“We thought you’d say it was disrespectful.” A ruby piped up.

“It- it’s fine.” Moss Agate nodded cautiously. “So long as you refer to me properly in front of superiors!” She hastily added.

“Sure.” Amethyst agreed. “We wouldn’t want to make you look bad in front of a diamond or Morganite anyway. Where are they though? I thought they would have come back with you.”

“Pink Diamond and Morganite still have much to discuss.” Of course, Moss Agate hadn’t informed them about Morganite going rouge and assaulting her Diamond. She glanced at what was left of the waste delivery. “It seems you have almost finished. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to inspect your cubbies.” With that, she marched out into the corridor.

As soon as she was out of sight, Moss Agate doubled back and hid by the doorframe, spying on the others.

To her surprise, the gems continued to work. She did notice they were talking more loudly than when she was watching them.

“Pink Diamond looks a little different to her statues.” A ruby mentioned.

“I always thought she’d be taller.” Another agreed.

“She sure seems nice though.” The last one pointed out.

“Yeah,” Jasper grinned, “and that organic she brought with her, a Connie was it? I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone shout at Mossy like that!” She laughed.

Moss Agate frowned embarrassedly. She prepared to burst in and restore discipline.

“Do you think she’s ok?” The amethyst with her gem in her stomach asked.

Moss Agate stopped.

“Who?” Jasper questioned.

“You know, Mossy.” The amethyst elaborated. “She’s been acting different ever since Pink Diamond and her Connie arrived. What if she’s scared, or sad?”

“What if she is?” Replied Jasper, trying to supplex empathy with reason. “It’s not like she’s ever cared about how we’re feeling.”

Moss Agate looked down, still slightly resentful but she also slightly guilty that she couldn’t deny Jasper’s claim.

“But still, we have each other. Who does she have? She’s the only agate here.”

“Oh, and I’m sure if there were more, they’d have a wonderful time making our lives miserable together.”

“Guys!” The other amethyst, with her gem on the back of their hand, called.

The other quartzes stopped bickering and they and the rubies looked over at her.

“Look what I found!” She grinned. In her hand she held a flat ring-shaped piece of metal. Moss Agate recognised it as a filter ring, the metal frame on which dust collection filters were attached, they came through the waste reclamation centre every now and again but she couldn’t for the life of her understand what was so exciting about it.

Nevertheless, the other gems seemed thrilled. Amethyst put the ring not in the cart destined for metal recycling but instead placed it on the floor beside her. “Right, lets get the rest of this junk out of here so we can play a bit before Mossy gets back.”

Moss Agate watched as the gems hurried to pack the last of the waste into its correct carts before sending them off. She moved back a bit to remain hidden as they put their shovels and gloves in the small storage room. She snuck forward again as they went back into the larger chamber.

The gems set about moving carts around until they had a wide empty space. The rubies lead a cart to one end of this space while Jasper carried another to the other end. She looked over to the amethyst with her gem on her stomach. “You sure you don’t want to play?” She asked kindly.

Amethyst nodded. “I’ll just watch.”

“We can switch the teams around if you want.”

“It’s fine.” She sat down among the carts.

Jasper went over to the other amethyst, who was stood with the rubies.

The purple quartz held up the filter ring. “Right! Everyone to their positions!” She dropped the ring directly in between the distant carts before heading off to join Jasper who had put herself a few meters away in the direction of her cart.

The rubies had done the same in the direction of their cart, formed a triangular formation and fused. The fusion started the count down. “Three!”

“Two!”

“One!”

“Go!” The amassed gems ran for the ring. Jasper got to it first but the ruby fusion charged her. Before Ruby was upon her however, Jasper threw the ring in Amethyst’s direction.

Moss Agate watched, attempting to understand the intricacies of the exercise. Though somewhat chaotic, with the tackling and whatnot, there were certainly rules. Moss Agate made a mental list from what she saw:

_Ring Game_

_Rule 1: The objective seems to be to get the ring into your opponent’s cart while preventing the opponent from getting the ring into your cart._

_Rule 2: The ring can only be transferred to one’s teammate by throwing, not by handing over. The ring can be dropped or thrown into the cart._

_Rule 3: Only a gem carrying the ring can be tackled._

_Rule 4: A gem with the ring successfully tackled to the ground must drop or throw the ring immediately._

_Rule 5: When a ring lands in the cart, the scoring team must back away. One member of the team scored against must retrieve the ring and throw it to their teammate. The opposing team may attempt to intercept this throw but not tackle._

_Rule 6: Rubies may fuse and unfuse as they so wish so long as there is always no more than two members on their team._

_Rule 7: First team to throw the ring into the opponents’ cart three times wins._

Moss Agate confirmed the final rule as she saw a ruby jump out of the fusion to grab the ring as it flew over her. With a boost from the two-ruby fusion, she leapt forward, rolled between Jasper’s legs and successfully threw the ring into the cart, breaking a two all tie.

With celebratory cheering, the ruby fusion ran over and lifted the singular ruby in her arms. “We did it!”

The quartzes gave sportsmanlike applause. Amethyst strode over to the cart to retrieve the ring. “Good game!” She grinned. “Jasper, why don’t you go check how long Mossy’s going to be, see if we have time for another round?”

“Sure.” Jasper turned around and stopped. “Moss Agate!”

Moss Agate stood in the doorframe, not saying a word. The lights flickered a couple of times.

The rubies unfused immediately. Amethyst hid the ring behind her back.

“It seems the delivery is complete.” The agate stated.

“Yes Moss Agate!” Jasper replied.

“Well, we have some time before the next one and you can’t very well blow off steam by going to the arena. Please, don’t stop playing on my account.”

“Really?”

Moss Agate scowled. “Yes.” She realised she was scowling and tried to soften her expression. “I’m just going to sit over here.”

After a few moments of trepidation, the gems started another round.

While they played, Moss Agate found a place among the put aside carts and sat. On the one hand, she was glad of no longer feeling she had to hide, on the other, she now felt herself in a position where whether she stayed or went, she would be a disturbance to the mood.

“Are you alright Moss Agate?” A voice beside her asked.

Moss Agate turned in shock to realise she had unintentionally sat herself right beside the amethyst with her stone in her stomach. “I’ve already said I’m fine. Why do you all keep asking that?”

“Well, when you called for Peridot earlier it sounded like something was wrong. We thought Peridot, Pearl, and Pink Diamond’s pet would come back with you. What happened?”

Moss Agate’s ponytail curled itself, flicking like the tail of an anxious cat. When gems tried to gage the mental state of other gems, they often looked to their expression on their face or check their hands to see if they were fidgeting. Moss Agate had learnt to direct her emotions to her mobile hair, a fifth appendage only seen among some agates and thus not often analysed to judge how she was feeling. Though her face didn’t show it, the quartz’s caring words had made her feel trapped. “Morganite has gone missing.” She admitted finally. Perhaps telling part of the truth would sate Amethyst’s urge to dig further into it.

In shock, Amethyst started to stand. “Missing!? Shouldn’t we go find her!?”

The other gems stopped and turned to see what the exclamation was about.

“No.” Moss Agate caught Amethyst’s shoulder and laid a commanding gaze onto the others.

They subtly glanced to Moss Agate’s platted hair. Her ponytail wasn’t stiff or shaking, signs they knew to mean she was mad at them. They were fairly certain that their friend was safe from their superior’s wrath. Still, the agate’s glare persisted. Jasper shared a look with her fellow players. In silent agreement, they resumed their game, mostly to assure Moss Agate that she no longer had their attention. They hung on to her every word.

“But-?” Amethyst questioned.

“Pink Diamond has went to look for her. She took her Connie, Morganite’s Pearl, and Peridot with her.”

“Can’t we help?”

“Pink Diamond has commanded us to stay here in case Morganite comes back.”

“Alright.” Amethyst sat down.

Moss Agate sat beside her, and, for a while, both watched the game without a word. Eventually, Moss Agate broke the silence. “So, why aren’t you playing?”

To her surprise, Amethyst gave a brief grimace as if wounded. The quartz managed to dial the expression to a frown before talking. “I, I usually play in the third team.”

“There’s a third team?” The agate queried.

“There used to be.”

“Who was in it?”

Amethyst looked at her, not quite believing her superior could be this dense. “It was me and…”

“2ZU.” Moss Agate finished, finally putting the pieces together in her mind.

“Yes.” The quartz nodded, her longing to see the lost jasper just one more time gnawing at her again.

Moss Agate saw an emotional outburst coming, she was not ready to deal with such things. Out of desperation, she started talking and found herself unable to properly stop. “Her loss affected us all. 2ZU is a gem who brought us all together.”

“But she’s gone, those white gems took her.” Amethyst started to weep quietly.

Moss Agate was holding her hand and squeezing it, she knew not how or why. “She’s gone, but not shattered. Pink Diamond is with us now, and she’ll have a plan, she’ll save us and then we can go and find her.”

“You’d do that?”

“Or crack myself trying.”

Amethyst gripped her hand hard. “Thank you!”

Moss Agate was disappointed to find that Amethyst cried harder. She looked around to see the others had again stopped playing to watch her. Her eyes flitted from gem to gem in those uncomfortable minutes. “N-Now, I’m doing this because it’s my duty!” She stammered eventually. “What sort of agate would I be if I abandoned my charges?”

They kept looking at her.

She turned back to the quietly crying amethyst. “But for now, 4VF, we must keep our chins up and pull ourselves together, so we are ready when the time comes to help Pink Diamond save her.”

“O-Ok.” 4VF took some breaths and levelled her expression.

Moss Agate knew that the change was purely cosmetic. She elected to try distraction. She stood up.

“Mossy?” The quartz’s eyes followed her.

“I don’t think I can bare to sit here and worry about Morganite.” She turned to the others. “May I join your game?”

“S-Sure.” Jasper replied, taken off guard by the request.

Moss Agate turned back to the amethyst sitting out. “I am interested to learn how this works. I know I probably won’t be as good a teammate as 2ZU, but could you show me how this works?”

The amethyst stood up. “Alright.”

Moss Agate could have sworn she saw the quartz smiling as she went to retrieve a third cart. The carts were rearranged into a triangular formation and the game started again.

Moss Agate picked up the rules quickly, but she felt the other two teams were holding back. As the game progressed, she became determined to not just understand the game, but master it, she wasn’t going to put up with rubies and quartzes going easy on her.

The score was one all as Moss Agate ran around the ruby fusion. “4VF! I’m open! Pass to m-!” She froze as her peripheral vision caught the corridor. She didn’t flinch as the ring hit the side of her head. “My Diamond!”


	21. Mother Machine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven and Connie are willing to fight their way to the solar plant. One foe catches up with them however, and they are an enemy nither could expect to face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: blood and major injuries

Steven smiled slightly at the sight before him. The scene of fun in the face of adversity before Moss Agate had noticed him had lifted his spirits. “What are you guys playing?” He called genially.

“I, er, well… I was just keeping my charges occupied.” The agate explained nervously.

“Cool.” Steven walked up to her with Connie and Morganite’s pearl in tow. “Is everything alright here?”

“Everything is fine, we’ve just about finished the delivery.” Moss Agate reported. “How did it go on your end? Did you find Morganite? Where’s Peridot?”

“We found Morganite, but we had to poof her.” Steven explained disappointedly. “Peridot was destabilised in the fighting too.”

“I see.” She shook her head. She suddenly recalled her duties. “Did you want your shoes back?”

“Oh, right!” The boy looked down at his and his girlfriend’s bare feet. “Yes please.”

As Steven and Connie donned their footwear, Moss Agate continued her enquiries. “What do we do now?”

“Connie and I have to destroy the spindle that was controlling her,” Steven replied, “Morganite said we could destroy it in the solar plant.”

“We shall escort you my Diamond!”

At their agate’s word, the rubies and quartzes arranged themselves in formation.

“No, it’s fine.” The boy insisted. “Lots of us would draw attention and Pearl says she knows the way.”

Moss Agate’s expression fell. “You’re leaving us, my Diamond?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll let you know once it’s safe to come out.” Steven assured her.

“But what should we do?”

“I need you to look after Morganite’s gem until she reforms.” He gently placed the pink stone into her hands. “When she reforms, she should be free from the spindle’s powers. Tell her what’s happened and that I forgive her for what she’s done, it wasn’t her fault.”

“Yes, my Diamond. Where’s Peridot’s gem?”

“Pearl is looking after it. We’ll call you when she’s reformed.”

“Yes, my Diamond.”

Not wanting any farther delay, Steven, Connie, and Pearl said their goodbyes to the other gems swiftly before entering the passageway on the far side of the room.

The passageway was tighter than the ones that had brought Steven and Connie into the reclamation centre. It was also devoid of the robotic dumpsters and chutes. The passageways twisted and turned, without Pearl, Steven and Connie would have gotten lost in seconds.

As they went, Connie couldn’t help but look over her shoulder. The claustrophobic corridors made her feel watched. She listened, but the sounds of distant machinery was all she could hear. She looked up at Pearl, her certainty in direction kept the girl’s worries at bay.

The gem looked for all the world to be navigating by memory. In truth, Morganite had installed a complete digital map of the Palatial Facet, both above and below ground, into her pearl’s gem. Whenever Pearl was unsure of where to turn, she referred to the map inside her gem, not needing to take it out. Externally, the act resembled intense thought or recollection.

With a final turn, the passage opened out into a chamber, no larger than a subway car. It was dimly lit and dusty from disuse, it would have been a dead end if not for the sliding metal doors on the far side. Pearl lead them to the doors. “Here we are.” She pressed a button on the side. “It might take a little while for the elevator to get here.”

“Alright.” Steven accepted.

“Will there be a lot of guards?” Enquired Connie.

“There’ll only be a few.” Pearl replied. “The solar plant a moderate priority structure.”

“Right,” Connie nodded, “even if there aren’t many of them, we should make a plan for how we’re going to-.” She stopped. Over the din of machinery, she heard a familiar sound;

_Click clack, click clack_

“It’s her.” Connie gasped, drawing her gladius.

“Who?” Pearl questioned, frightened by Connie’s tone.

“Can you hear her?” She asked her boyfriend.

He nodded. He looked around the barren room for place to hide. He looked up at Pearl. “Is there any other way out of this room?”

“N-Not until the elevator comes.” She jittered.

Steven summoned his shield. “Then stay behind us.” He and Connie took a step back the way they had come, towards the corridor, towards the clicking footfalls. They held hands and fused.

A bead of sweat rolled down from Stevonnie’s forehead and they squeezed the grip of the now longsword. The fusion stared into the blind bend of the corridor as the clicks and clacks got closer, until they were upon them.

The figure that suddenly that suddenly filled their one escape route wasn’t Roxillan. It’s main body was a white metal sphere, extending from it were four limbs, two legs and two arms, each composed of two floating cylinders. Also floating by the sphere was what seemed to be rose’s sabre. Devoid of eyes, it seemed to stare at Stevonnie.

“How do you have that?” The fusion questioned. “Blue Destroyed that sword.”

The robanoid replied in Roxillan’s sweetest pre-recorded voice. “Hello Stevonnie, put down the sword and come apart.”

“No.”

The machine pointed one of its arm pegs in their direction and a pink disk of energy started to form at its tip. “Do as I say and nobody gets hurt.”

“Steven, Connie.” Pearl whispered. “If something goes wrong, tell Peridot that-!”

The disk fired, slicing through her head, poofing her instantly. Her and Peridot’s gems dropped onto the dusty floor.

“What was that for!” Stevonnie shouted, furious that they could not have protected her. “She wasn’t even fighting!”

"You didn’t do as your mother asked.”

“You aren’t my mother!”

The robanoid lowered its arm, pointing at Pearl’s gem. “The next shot will shatter the-.”

The were cut off as Stevonnie tackled them, the energy disk fired into the ceiling. Stevonnie took the moments their opponent reeled to pick up the gems with their dexterous toes, tossing them into their shield hand and tucking them into their pocket.

“I didn’t want to hurt you Stevonnie.” The still spinning core stated.

“You already have!”

“That’s what you think.” The core stopped, it faced in the opposite direction from how it had previously. Stevonnie could tell it was facing the other way as the side that faced them now was flat and in the middle was set a pink gem, almost identical to the one in their stomach.

Suddenly a three-dimensional static cast in pink radiated from the gem in waves. It washed over the robanoid in layering waves until it became a glowing pink silhouette of a tall, voluptuous being. Like a blooming flower, a dress formed. With an ethereal static pop, the colouration, texture, and fine details appeared. “Goodbye Stevonnie.” Smiled Rose Quartz.

With a subtle breeze, the fusion burst apart.

“Steven!?” Connie exclaimed, shocked and confused, but with enough sense to keep her weapon, now returned to its gladius form, pointed at the enemy.

Steven on the other hand was panicking. He scrabbled on his rear, away from the illusion. “M-Mom? No no no no no no no…” His voice diminished into a constant hopeless murmur. Though not externally obvious, the wind, laden with all sorts of conceptual wickedness, swirled around him. It fed on the complex feelings the boy had for his mother, growing powerful enough to paralyse him with self-doubt and fear.

Satisfied that Steven was incapacitated, the fake Rose turned its attention to Connie. “Put down the sword dear, you can’t win.” It drew the sabre.

Connie’s eyes snapped towards the illusion’s mouth. The order hadn’t been in the voice of Rose Quartz, it had been her mother. A second conceptual wind blew, but it found no purchase on the young swordswoman. If this machine could impersonate her mother, that meant Homeworld, or worse Roxillan, had access to her mother’s voice. Connie’s family was in danger. Her mother’s voice didn’t cow Connie, it gave her reason to fight harder. With nowhere else to go, the stray concepts clung to her sword, overcharging it.

Connie stabbed at her opponent’s stomach.

As it had before, the robanoid created a disc of energy from its palm. This disk however became a shield, identical to Steven’s, it shrugged off Connie’s thrust before its wielder tried to whack Connie with it.

Connie ducked and bolted through the opening, turning to slice into the dress.

The robanoid was too slow to react. However, since the robotic frame was untouched, the dress and leg underneath were restored almost immediately. The diamond facsimile turned on Connie and brought down its blade.

Connie parried, making up for her inferior strength with her superior dexterity. With another deflection, she put her opponent on the back foot. She twisted her wrist on the third, wrenching her opponents weapon from it’s hard light grasp. She lined up her sword and thrust, piercing the metal core. “How did I do that?” She thought, pulling her sword out, having expected only to knock it back.

Roxillan’s voice came from the machine. “Conceptual force detected.” The full lips of Rose Quartz did not move. “Pilot elimination authorised. Overclocking.” Suddenly, the gem/machine amalgam’s hand shot down like lightning and grabbed the back of Connie’s head. With the speed of a baseball pitcher it turned and threw her into the far wall.

“Connie!” Steven screamed. He fought against the conceptual power and stood shakily on his feet.

Slumped against the wall, dented by her impact, Connie opened her eyes. She didn’t have time to wonder how she had survived the impact with only a painful head, as she saw the Rose facsimile bear down on her boyfriend.

“You are coming with me!” Rose’s voice said, serene enough that it could well have been an invitation to a picnic.

Connie ran to Steven’s aid, her gladius growing into a katana.

A hand very like that of Steven’s mother wrapped around his throat, choking him out. The shield hand raised for a final smash over his head.

Connie wasn’t going to make it in time, she wasn’t fast enough. Despite the distance still to go, she made a desperate upwards swing. “ ** _Lapis Wave!_** ”

The arc of her sword produced a great blade of air. As it flew towards the opponent, the crescent inverted so that its razor sharp interior smashed into the machines back like a pincer.

Though the wind didn’t cut through, the force was great enough to dent the metal core and force the machine to stagger, dropping Steven.

Having overpowered the conceptual winds, Steven landed on his feet with a gasp. Instantly he grabbed the copy of his gem and pulled with all his might. With a metallic creek, Steven tore the gem out of the machine, along with the face plate it was attached to.

Rose Quartz’s form vanished. The robanoid took on a quadrupedal stance and moved no more, the hole in its top sparking.

“I-Is it down?” Steven questioned. “Have we won?”

“I-I think so.” Connie replied.

“Thank goodness.” Steven looked down at the faceplate he was holding. He arched an eyebrow at the now red gem in the centre. He started to gently extract the stone from the metal, bending back the hooks holding it in place.

Meanwhile, Connie investigated the robanoid’s main body. The interior was a bundled mess of wires and narrow pipes of glass. A glowing yellow fluid seemed to flow through the pipes, light fluid. Connie followed the pipe with her eyes until she came to a loop shaped chamber that surrounded another black spindle. The glass was cracked and vibrated violently. “Oh cra-!”

Steven looked up just in time to see the white flash of the explosion that threw him back.

Steven opened his eyes. It was dark, the explosion had taken out the lights. He illuminated the area with his gem. He looked down at himself briefly, his diamond toughness meant that the only damage on him was his now ragged clothes. He searched around the room. The first thing of note he saw among the shrapnel was the red gem, cracked by the explosion. He scooped up the gem and kissed it, fixing it instantly. As he pocketed the gem his light fell upon a horrifying sight. A bloodied brown hand in the sea of metal shards. “Connie!” He ran to the girl kneeling beside her.

Connie lay face down, silent and motionless. Her clothing was just as torn and dirtied as Steven’s. As Steven gently turned her, he saw cuts and bruises all over. One particularly bad cut was on her chest, in the centre, just below her clavicle. A flake of black material stuck out of the wound. Moving quickly, Steven removed the shrapnel, which vanished into shadow as Roxillan could, and applied his healing spit. In his panic, Steven failed to appreciate how much the wound resembled the wavy line of the Pilot before healing it.

“Connie, please wake up! I can’t do this without you! Please! I love you!” So aggrieved was Steven that he didn’t see a few of the undamaged cylindrical parts come together into a hand like structure and creep towards him.

He was roused by the sound of a blade hitting metal. Connie had extended her gladius into the robotic hand, knocking it apart. “Persistent little robot, isn’t it?” She smiled weakly.

“Connie!” He exhaled with joyous shock.

“Hey babe.”

He hugged her, crying. “I thought you were…”

“Ow.”

“Sorry!” He let her go, laying her back on his lap. “How are you alright?”

Connie thought for a moment before pulling up her tattered shirt enough to show the band of armament underneath. “I guess we should thank Meygareath when we get back.”

“Yeah!” He almost laughed with joy. “I don’t know how I’ll ever repay her. But why did you take so long to talk?”

“I was listening to you telling me how great I was.” She joked before frowning. “Also, it hurts.”

Steven’s eyes widened. “Your voice?”

“And everything else.”

Steven’s mournful expression turned as the doors opened, bathing them in the light of the empty elevator that had finally arrived. “Can you walk?”

“Maybe once you’ve patched me up.”

With a nod, Steven lifted his girlfriend and carried her into the elevator. Once they were inside and the doors had started to close, Steven began kissing her, her face, arms and shoulders. He applied his healing spit indirectly to places where kissing was inappropriate. After a full minute Connie was almost as well as she had been before to robanoid caught up with them. “Did you press a button?” She asked.

“No.” Steven realised. “It’s going up by itself!”

“They could be expecting us.” Connie scowled. “When these doors open, we may have to run or fight.”

Steven nodded. “We shouldn’t bring these gems with us, it could be dangerous.” He took out the red gem.

“What can we do though?” Connie questioned. “Even if we could make the elevator go down, I don’t think we could find our way to the reclamation centre and back.

Steven contained the red gem in a bubble. “We could send them home?”

“Yeah.”

Steven tapped the top of the bubble and it vanished. He took Pearl’s gem out of his pocket.

“Wait!” Connie insisted. She took Peridot’s gem from her pocket and placed it in Steven’s palm beside Pearl. “Go ahead.”

Steven smiled as he contained both gems in the same bubble. He sent them to his home, on Earth, together.


	22. The Pebble Rebellion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pilot makes it to the floor below Roxillan's but White Diamond is there to meet him, in a way. When the fight turns sour, Pilot is saved by unlikely allies with a secret weapon ready and a plan already underway.

Pilot’s eyes scanned the crossroad corridor as he lowered the pair of gem destabilisers. It had been a slog of a fight, but every single gem that had tried to stop him was defeated.

He made a circuit of the room at warp speed, collecting the fallen gems and tucking them into his jacket.

He gave one last sweep with his eyes to ensure no gem was left behind. “Where’s the new elevator mum?”

“The only elevator not in use an express elevator just down the hall.” Axia replied. “It only goes up to the floor below Roxillan though.”

“I can climb one floor round the outside.” Pilot chuckled. Pilot made his way over to express elevator. With a press of a button, the door opened. Pilot selected the highest floor the lift would go to.

Pilot noted that the express elevator moved much faster than the one he had went up in previously. “So what’s going to be outside this elevator? More new friends?”

Axia looked for the camera feed. “I can’t get a visual. Activation codes aren’t working. It seems Roxillan has had the external camera destroyed.”

“If she can’t use it no one can.” Pilot shook his head. “She’s probably expecting us then.” He raised his stolen weapons as the elevator came to a stop. Just before the doors opened, images filled Pilot’s head. A narrow blue beam hitting him, rendering him paralysed, a tall, broad gem bringing a bludgeon upon his head to lethal effect. “What was that?” He shook his head as he sidestepped the door, pressing himself into a hidden corner.

As he had foreseen, a pencil-thin beam of blue light entered the elevator, passing through where he had stood.

“She’s gone?” A voice questioned. It was White Diamond.

“No, hiding.” White corrected herself, her voice came from another place. From the voice’s new location came footsteps, although they were heavy, they were nowhere near heavy enough to come from a diamond. “You can’t hide for long Pilot.” Suddenly a tall, white, square-framed gem stepped into the elevator. Topaz, not just any topaz but the fusion who had been sent to Earth to kidnap humans all those months ago, Pilot recognised her from the circular gemstones on either side of her head.

Before the fusion had a chance to turn around, Pilot jammed a destabiliser into her side. “That’s what you think Sparkles!” He leaped from the elevator, rolling to avoid the beams of Aquamarine’s wand. It was the same Aquamarine too. Pilot noticed the lack of poofed-gems-hitting-the-floor sounds coming from behind him. He skirted around Aquamarine until he could see both her and the elevator at the same time. Clambering out of the elevator came Topaz and Topaz, separated but both intact, they recombined as they stood. Pilot glanced down at the destabilisers. “I thought these things were more powerful” He muttered.

Topaz drew her two headed bludgeon and stomped towards him.

“What, no gloating?” Pilot dodged another beam of blue and started backing away from Topaz, toward the gap between the floor and the superhot light fluid. “You’ve taken direct control of these guys just to fight me and you have nothing to say?”

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Topaz smiled in White Diamond’s voice. “I’m here to protect my Silver Starlight, this has nothing to do with you.”

“If it’s to do with old Roxy, it’s to do with me! We sort of go together like that.”

“Not anymore.” Aquamarine shook her head, serving as the diamond’s mouthpiece also. “Roxillan has ordered that nobody is to enter her floor apart from Steven and Connie and that you are to be killed.”

“Makes sense.” Pilot mimicked the smile plastered on the two gems assaulting him. “I hurt her pretty bad.”

The white faces frowned.

“And you couldn’t stop me.”

The gems’ frowns reared up into snarls.

“How does it feel?” Pilot questioned, still grinning. “To be so helpless?”

Their eyes filled with murder.

“To be so imperfect?”

With White Diamond’s cold fury, Topaz charged. She swung her weapon down where Pilot had been. Pilot hopped around, using Topaz as cover against Aquamarine’s wand.

“Little bit careless, aren’t we?” Pilot threatened Topaz with the gem destabilisers. Pilot’s unarmed strikes couldn’t even shift the powerful fusion. For her part, Topaz was too big and slow to touch the agile kelmep. The destabilisers were Pilot’s tiebreaker, he thrust both into the fusion’s broad chest.

Nothing happened.

White’s smile returned to the gems’ faces. “It seems your destabilisers are out charge.” She jeered through Topaz.

“Ah.” Pilot glanced around. “You couldn’t wait a minute for me to go get some m-?”

Topaz grabbed Pilot by the arm and threw him toward the stored light fluid.

As Pilot flew through the air, he tried to unfurl his ribbon of traversal. Unfortunately, he found himself unable to aim since his arm had been dislocated by Topaz’s throw. He flailed for something to grab onto before suddenly stopping, something had caught him by the foot and was drawing him upward and away from the tower’s burning core.

Suddenly, he was in a dark, cramped chamber. Pilot knew better than to trust a stranger, especially one who refused to show themselves. “Hello?” He said quietly.

Out from the shadows came a tiny grey gem, she was followed by another and another and yet more until a small horde stared up at Pilot.

“You guys are the pebbles Connie told me about.”

They nodded.

“You guys saved me?”

They all pointed at his left shoulder.

He remembered his dislocated joint. “Oh right. Don’t worry, I can fix this. Does anyone have anything I can bite down on?”

Some of the pebbles morphed their little hands into tools and set about pulling a cylinder out of the floor. They carried it over to him. It had been sculpted to resemble a sword’s hilt.

With a raised brow, Pilot took the hilt and placed it in his mouth. He swiftly reinserted his dislocated arm, causing some of the pebbles to flinch. “Sorry about that.” He said, handing the hilt back to them. “Now, where are we?”

Axia presented him with a layout of the solar plant. “If the floor measurements are accurate, you should be on the next floor up.”

“The same floor and Roxillan.” Pilot crept forward, his vision in darkness was slightly better than average and he could see that the area he was contained in was small, like a broom closet. The walls were baffled to muffle noises coming from inside and there were no doors, the hole Pilot had been pulled through had been sealed up without a hint of its presence. Pilot pressed an ear against the wall.

He heard crying, Roxillan’s crying. From what he could judge, she was sitting on a chair of some sort and was a short distance past this wall.

“Ok,” Pilot took a step back and quietly addressed the pebbles, “I need you to make me a door please.”

The pebbles made their tools and started for the wall. Suddenly one of them looked in Pilot’s direction and signalled the others. The pebbles all put their tools away and turned back to the kelmep with an apologetic shake of the head.

“You won’t do it?” Pilot questioned. “Why not?”

The pebble who had signalled the others pointed at the wall and made a scary face, forming a little spear out of the floor for emphasis.

“I know who’s on the other side of that wall. I know how to deal with her. She won’t bother you anymore.”

She looked over her fellow pebbles with concern. A lot of the pebbles were holding each other, many seemed frightened, most seemed tired.

“I won’t let her hurt you, I promise.”

The pebble gave another look over her comrades. She gave another shake of her head.

“Well what am I meant to do?”

The pebble sat.

“I can’t just do nothing.” Pilot argued. “Thing aren’t going to get better until we start fighting for it!”

The pebbles all put fingers to their lips.

Pilot bowed his head. “Sorry.” He whispered. “But we can’t just let Roxy do whatever she wants.”

She gave a solemn nod of agreement.

“So you’re going to let me go deal with her?”

She shook her head.

Pilot pinched the bridge of his nose. “Koras, yevir ah yerok kikuruvasha.” He muttered. “But you just agreed we can’t let her go on like this.”

The pebble ran to the other side of the kelmep, he followed her with his eyes.

She presented him with a roll of paper that had been brought in by the others. Pilot carefully unfurled it on the floor. He examined the diagrams before gazing over the notations. “I haven’t picked up gem glyph yet. Have you mom?”

“I have a grasp of the fundamentals.” Axia replied, reading. “They seem to have a very advanced plan to eliminate Roxillan. They’ve been tracking her movements since she rose to power. And they’ve located some sort of weapon.”

“Wow, sorry for underestimating you.” Pilot apologised.

The pebble shrugged.

“Can I help your plan then?”

The pebble nodded before beckoning her allies. Together, they remade the hole in the floor.

Pilot looked down. Due to the ellipsoid shape the plant took, the very edge of the balcony he had been thrown from was visible directly beneath the hole, with Topaz and Aquamarine milling about farther in, White Diamond confidant of their victory.

“So, what do I do?” Pilot asked.

The pebble, stood on the opposite side of the hole to him, rolled up plan under her arm, pointed down at the gems who had almost killed Pilot.

“You want me to fight them again?” He inferred.

She nodded.

“But why? They’re just a couple of gem soldiers, they aren’t preventing you from getting to Roxillan, clearly.”

The pebble unfurled the paper again and pointed at a diagram of White Diamond’s ship.

Pilot squinted for a moment before realising what was being expressed. “White has taken direct control of them, if I fight them, White will be forced to divide her attention and give my dad an opening.”

The pebble nodded.

“Wait, how do you know my dad is fighting White right now?”

The pebble only stared in his direction.

“And why aren’t you looking me in the eyes?”

The pebble shifted her gaze to meet his.

“There’s somebody behind me, isn’t there.”

She nodded.

“From where you’re looking, I’m guessing they’re taller than a pebble.”

Another nod.

“Your secret weapon?”

A final nod.

Before Pilot could turn around, he felt a pair of hands on his back, one slender, one broad. The pebbles gave him a little wave and he was pushed, falling through the hole.


	23. Lost Mother, Lost Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pilot dives back into the fight. He has a lot to fight for, but a lot to lose also.

White Diamond turned Topaz’s eye’s back to the elevator door as she directed Aquamarine to look out across the balcony to her humanoid ship. Now that the threat to her Silver Starlight had been dealt with, the diamond had to concentrate her efforts on her personal situation as much as possible.

Though she hated to admit it, the human was a challenging foe. His power didn’t approach her own of course, but he was fast enough that he seemed to disappear and reappear at random. Even with three sets of eyes, it took the utmost of her concentration to keep the man in her sights. While she and her fellow diamonds were certainly stronger than the little organic, his punches, landed only when White had briefly lost track of him, had sent the diamonds under her control sprawling across the floor. Had it not been for her swift action, he may have destabilised them.

The worst part was that the fight had no end in sight. White thought humans were meant to tire, but ever since this one had taken a bite of something that turned his skin red, he had been fighting with no sign of exhaustion for hours. He had even started to mock her again.

Suddenly, a black and neon blue ribbon shot past Aquamarine’s eyes, attaching itself to a safety railing built to protect gems from the Solar Plant’s hazardous core.

Aquamarine’s head turned to the ribbon’s source just in time to see Pilot flying towards her. “Beep beep Ice Queen!” Before White could have Aquamarine respond, Pilot’s fist was in the gem’s stomach. He snatched her dropped wand from the air and landed on the floor pointing the wand at Topaz. “This should even the odds a bit!”

Topaz a smiled cockily as she turned to face him. “I doubt that.”

“Don’t move or I’ll zap ya!” Pilot grinned.

Topaz took a step forward.

Pilot realised there were no buttons or controls. “Mum, hack this thing.” He requested quietly.

Hair-thin copper wires snaked out from Pilot’s sleeve and into the wand’s inner workings.

Aquamarine recovered from the punch and took to the wing again. “That won’t work.” White smiled through her.

“Your personal security is a Simon Says toy, I’m sure my mom can figure out this stick.”

“Stasis manipulators have gemetically locked operating systems.” White explained.

Pilot gave a slightly annoyed scowl. “English, you Tiffany’s reject! Do you speak it!?”

Topaz’s eyes rolled as she began approaching to finish the kelmep. “The ‘stick’, as you call it, physically cannot operate without an Aquamarine’s gem in the circuit.”

“Actually,” Axia countered smugly, “I just figured it out.” A beam of blue light shot from the wand’s tip striking Topaz and stopping her in her tracks. 

White was shocked, she knew the design of all Homeworld technology inside and out. “But, that’s, impossible!” She stammered out of Aquamarine.

“So’s your face, you shiny Palpatine wannabe!” Pilot flicked his wrist, tossing Topaz over the edge of the balcony. He pointed his wand upward, catching Aquamarine in the back as White tried to fly her away to warn Roxillan. He slammed her into the ground and in seconds was upon her, kneeling on her chest to pin her.

“So,” She stated. “You’re going to assault a defenceless Era 2 aquamarine? What a glorious victory for you.”

Pilot shook his head more seriously. “I know it wasn’t a coincidence this Topaz and Aquamarine were chosen to guard this place. They’re the same gems that were sent to kidnap humans from Earth.”

“Are they now?”

“If you didn’t decide it, Roxy did. I don’t really have anything against Topaz,” He nodded towards the balcony he had just thrown the fusion off, “she was just following orders, trying not to get split apart. This Aquamarine however…” He gripped her tear shaped gem. “She was unempathetic, cruel, I might even say evil.” He curled his fingers. “And you robbed her of her very mind. Nobody deserves what you’ve done to your own people, not even her. I’m not assaulting Aquamarine, I’m saving her.” He pulled off Aquamarine’s gem, poofing her, and tucked it into his jacket.

As Pilot stood, he sensed something behind him. Suddenly a wrecking ball strike landed between his shoulders, sending him flying into the distant guard rail. If not for his band of armament, the blow could well have killed him. With broken ribs, he turned to face his aggressor, holding onto the rail for support.

One of the topaz fusion’s constituents, the one with her gem on the right side of her head stood facing him, mace drawn, she had jumped and climbed all the way back up while White had used Aquamarine to filibuster for time. “You do like to talk, don’t you?” White mocked through Topaz.

“Mum, pin.” Pilot requested.

No response came.

“Mum? Mum?” Pilot became frightened, remembering where Topaz had struck. “Axi? Axia?”

“Axia unit unresponsive.” An automated voice answered.

Pilot’s mouth dried and his breath became shallow. “Axia? Please respond.”

“Axia unit unresponsive.” The voice repeated. “Backup unit engaged.”

“No…” He said quietly.

“Are those tears?” White questioned with cruel delight. “Do you cry every time you get hurt?”

“You shut your mouth!” He screamed at her.

“Are you angry things aren’t going your way, that I’m soon going to destroy that human you left with me?”

Pilot took another shaking breath. “Backup, this bitch has hurt my mother, like fuck we’re going to let her hurt dad!”

“I’m sorry, I did not understand that command. Please try again.” The backup replied.

Pilot sighed miserably. “Apply pins and apply pins as needed.”

“Rib fracture detected, applying pins.”

As his broken ribs were set in place, Pilot took out a small rectangular item and broke the vacuum seal.

Topaz’s eyes widened as the diamond controlling her recognised the item. It was the same thing the human she was still fighting had consumed before suddenly regaining his energy. Topaz charged Pilot.

It was too late however, Pilot took a bite out of the battle jerky before rolling aside, the heat burnt his mouth and spread outward, causing his blood to boil.

“You think that will make up for your inferiority?” White snapped, looking down at the kelmep, still bent over from his roll.

Pilot made a quiet noise. “Ah…”

“Pardon?” White had Topaz lean closer.

Pilot growled. “Graah…”

Her eyebrow rose.

Suddenly, Pilot’s face, flushed almost completely black, snapped up to meet Topaz’s. He snarled as his saliva started to foam like a rabid animal’s. With a bestial scream, he leapt up onto Topaz’s face. “Ahhhhhh! Raaaa! Kill you!”

For a few seconds of enraged clawing White found her connection to Topaz weaken, she couldn’t move the gem as she tried to process the alien’s sudden change. The human on her ship didn’t behave in such a ghastly manner. Suddenly, White regained control over Topaz and had her grab one of Pilot’s arms. To the diamond’s surprise, she had to use a sizable amount of Topaz’s strength to keep the creature from escaping. She looked up at Pilot as his high blood pressure caused his nose to spontaneously start bleeding. “What’s happened to y-?”

She was cut off as Pilot headbutted her. “Ahhhaahh! Die already!” With a roar, he headbutted Topaz again and again sending her staggering backwards.

Locked in quarters too close to effectively swing her weapon, Topaz swatted the maddened kelmep off her. At the same time her partner managed to climb up onto the floor. Topaz turned, White planning on having her run to fuse with the other topaz and finish Pilot. A strike to her back, much stronger than the ones Pilot had thrown earlier, caused her legs to buckle and her back to go concave.

“Limb fracture detected, applying pin.” The backup stated.

As the topaz regained balance, White’s smile reappeared. “Did you injure your-?”

She was interrupted by another punch in the back.

“Limb fracture detected, applying pin.”

Followed by another.

“Limb fracture detected, applying pi- Limb fracture detected, a- Limb fracture d- Limb fra- Li- Li- Li- Li- Li- Li- Li- Li- Li- Li-…”

Pilot’s limb breaking punches slowly but surely burrowed through the stunned gem’s body, compressing her torso more and more with each strike, a new fist hitting before the body could recover. What truly stunned White however were the screams, they were incongruous to the breakages Pilot lay upon himself and an uncontrolled hurricane of conceptual rage engulfed the area surrounding him.

As the width between front and back became comparable to the thickness of a sheet of paper Topaz’s body gave in, poofing to reveal onto her partner the bloody armed, panting kemep behind her, sweat and blood evaporating off his body and horribly injured arms as mist, the dry residue of his black blood falling out of his sleeves in flakes. He staggered towards the remaining opponent.

“Do you really think you can keep fighting? You could drop dead at any moment!”

Like a ravenous zombie, insensitive to its own pain, he kept coming.

Topaz raised her mace. “Very well, I’ll put you out of your misery.”

Pilot stopped well within range of Topaz and stood in a widened stance, ready to kick.

Topaz brought down her mace.

As she did, Pilot swung up his leg to meet it. Just as leg met weapon however, his leg started to lower again, too fast for the strike to properly connect, but slow enough to rob the blow of its force. As the mace slowed to a crawl, Pilot span on his other leg increasing the momentum he stole from his enemy. “Raaaa! **_Killer Heel!_** ” The back of Pilot’s foot slammed into Topaz’s side with over three times her mace’s power. Pilot’s achilles tendon acted like a blade, slicing through.

At Topaz’s gem hit the ground, Pilot stared down at the disc shaped gem with a snarl. “Die…” he raised his foot, positioning it above the already defeated foe. “Rrrrr…” He froze. “White… Topaz… yellow…” he stomped his foot down, cracking the metal floor beside Topaz’s gem.

“Limb fracture detected, applying pin.”

His body shook, not from the pain of yet another intermuscular pin, but from another, worse pain. “Mum…” Tears fell down his cheeks as his skin lightened and he fell into a foetal position on the ground. “Mum?”

“Axia unit unresponsive.”

“Mum… I’m sorry…”

On White’s ship, Mighty Spark stood in the great grate he and his allied diamonds had entered by. Unknowingly like his son, he was flushed, his skin pink and steaming from his burning blood. Like his son, he had eaten battle jerky. Unlike his son, Mighty Spark kept control, his analytical mind still able consider his present situation.

White Diamond and the two diamonds she had rapidly gained control over had lost sight of him for now. He knew that White’s awareness meant that he couldn’t get close enough to land a hit without the diamond noticing and mounting a defence.

He was considering backing out, coming back with reinforcements, possibly call in some favours from other worlds. The fight so far wasn’t even balanced. The diamonds had the advantage in both offensive and defensive power, it was only by his far superior mobility that he had been able to avoid their lasers and lightning bolts, striking with pot-shots that succeeded only in knocking one of his former allies down before the other two diamonds blocked him from a destabilising strike.

Suddenly, he noticed the look on White’s face, a microscopic flinch. Something was playing brief havoc on her concentration. This was the opening he had been waiting for these past hours. Mighty Spark clenched his fists and tensed his arms’ muscles, charging warp energy in both upper limbs. He leapt down, and charged.

White Diamond spotted the human’s approach through Yellow’s eyes first, he was far closer than where her normal perception should have spotted him, dulled as it was from Topaz’s brutal and traumatising defeat. Yellow Diamond’s foot came down in an attempt to crush him, but he leapt up to her eye hight. She swung at him. With a flip, he was on her fist, running up her arm. His feet danced between the lightning that surged across her skin. Yellow raised he arms in defence only to feel no blow. Mighty Spark’s foot kicked the back of Yellow’s head as he launched himself toward White Diamond.

“Get away from me!” White shouted, having long since stopped masking her rage with pleasantry. She had Blue interpose herself.

Blue looked up with White’s signature smile, not present on White herself. “You wouldn’t hurt Blue would you?” A white shockwave of emotion, drawn from Blue’s memories, rippled out. “Not after your ‘date’?”

Mighty Spark warped onto Blue’s head, unaffected by her power. “I raised a conceptually active teenager, that isn’t going to work.” Using the diamond as another steppingstone, he leapt at White, kicking Blue to the floor. “I don’t think she’ll appreciate you going through her mind.”

“I said get away!” White screamed, firing her radiance from her eyes.

At warp speed, Mighty Spark drew his legs up into his chest, avoiding the beams as he ascended. He lowered his legs again and his sandal touched the beam, suddenly, he was running along the light. As White realised what was happening and shut off her lasers, it was already too late. Mighty Spark threw his right fist striking her just below her gem.

In a flash of blue, White Diamond flew backwards, slamming into the back wall hard enough to send out cracks across it and free her pearl, hanging from the ceiling. Mighty Spark landed gracefully on White’s platform as the room became silent. “White? Are you back? Is Roxillan in control?”

Laying on the floor, White was in a state of confusion. She had no memory of her activities in the last quarter cycle, none since she had investigated the remains of a grey alien who had dared to appear in her chamber. Her head was hurting and so very full, hundreds of gems were under her control, she did not know how or why. She could not bear so many perceptions at once. What was that voice? “What?”

“Well, it sounds like you’re free!” The voice noted with pride. “Could you let everyone else go now?”

Who was this voice to command her? She hated that they… No, she didn’t hate, hatred was an imperfect state of mind. What she meant was that any being deigning to give her orders was clearly imperfect. Still, she couldn’t maintain control over so many gems. Over the course of seconds, she let them go one by one, analysing each in turn. The only gems she of course didn’t release were her pearl, and… Why were her two fellow diamonds under her control? She had to have a reason to do this, even if she couldn’t remember it, White got to her feet, commanding the gems still under her control to do so as well. It seemed as though all three of them were in her ship with her. White barely managed to contain her horror as she saw herself through her fellow diamond’s eyes.

A radial crack spidered its way across her forehead, glowing blue. Her lustrous gem was thankfully intact, but the crack was damage unlike any she knew of before. She would have to find a way to fix it once this mess had been dealt with. She looked down at her steering platform and found the source of the voice, a human, reddish pink in colour, its left arm glowing the same colour as her wound.

Mighty Spark winced slightly as he saw the injury. “Ah, seems like a minor case of warp burn, sorry about that.”

“Pardon?” White understood the implication of the human taking responsibility perfectly, what she wanted to know was how and what could be done to fix it.

Mighty Spark changed the subject. “Are you going to free them then? I’ve asked twice now!”

“I don’t take orders from lesser lifeforms.” She planned to follow up the assertion of dominance with a demand to fix the largely aesthetic damage.

“Then take orders from me!” He interrupted.

“What do you think you are human?” She asked sweetly.

“Better than Roxillan. You’ve been taking orders from her for a while now, it should be coming back to you any second… there we go.”

As Mighty Spark read from her face, a fuzzy recollection made its way back into White Diamond’s head. The kelmep Roxillan, how she had been appointed as an advisor. Looking back, White couldn’t understand her actions. She hadn’t been taking orders, she assured herself, only heeding advice. Why did she take advice from such a wrenched creature though?

“Are you going to let them go now?” Mighty Spark enquired. “Third time.”

Why had White enslaved her closest allies? There had to be a reason, she was too perfect to act without one. “No…”

Mighty Spark’s face hardened, though he still smiled defiantly. “I’ll be honest, it wasn’t really a request. Why aren’t you doing the right thing now you’re free?”

“With their flaws removed, I can concentrate on growing gemkind to its perfection.” White explained, not so much for the human’s benefit, but to convince herself that had been her motivation all along. The only other option would be to admit she fell under an alien’s sway, which was impossible, seeing as she was perfect.

White noticed the human didn’t look convinced. In their short communication, he had done nothing but question her perfection and she was sick of it. She sent Yellow Diamond to step on him.

Mighty Spark saw the attack immediately and leapt aside. “So that’s how it is?” The human ran and jumped back into the vent he and his teammates had entered the ship from.

Yellow turned to face him. “Where are you going human?” White smiled through her.

Mighty Spark turned to face her, ready to give one more chance to swallow her pride and do what’s right. “Steven sent the diamonds and I in to knock Roxillan’s influence out of your head. Now that’s done I’m off to give him a report, including on how you aren’t any better now you’re free!”

“Pink?” All three diamonds queried aloud. White thought quickly. If this human gave his report to her Starlight, Pink might decide to flee Homeworld and White would risk losing her again. She couldn’t risk it. White sent the other diamonds after Mighty Spark.

Mighty Spark ran down the passage, too narrow for White herself, but wide enough for Blue and Yellow. As he approached the sealed blast door, he glanced down at his glowing left arm, if it wasn’t sufficiently charged he would be cornered and relatively disarmed. The battle jerky was wearing off and he felt exhaustion start to creep up on him. He reached the door and punched.

The nigh indestructible metal burst apart and he leap, falling from the Diamond Ship’s eye and fighting to remain conscious.

Like a blue guardian angel, Lapis swept over and caught him. His body was limp as she held him in her arms. “Spark!? What’s happening? Don’t sleep now! Sparky!”

Mighty Spark opened his eyes woozily. “Monika?”

“Who?” Lapis slapped a wing across his face, splashing him with cold water.

“Miss Lazuli!” He exclaimed, suddenly alert. “Sorry, my blood sugar’s low.” He pulled a packet of mini pretzels from his cargo shorts.

“What’s going on in there?” Lapis demanded.

“Right.” Mighty Spark caught sight of Peridot on her lid with Bismuth hanging underneath, he signalled them over. As groups flew side by side he explained while eating pretzels. “The good news is Roxillan isn’t in control of White Diamond or any gem who was under their combined control.”

“Mission accomplished!” Peridot cheered.

“The bad news is,” Mighty Spark interrupted, “White still isn’t on our side, she took control of Blue and Yellow Diamond while she was under Roxillan’s. Now she’s free, she refuses to let them go.”

“What!” Lapis exclaimed.

“Why?” Peridot questioned, dismayed.

“She can’t accept what happened to her, she refuses to accept she did anything wrong.”

“Typical diamond.” Bismuth grumbled.

“If anyone has a chance of talking sense into her, it can only be another diamond, and that’s a big if.”

“Are you saying we’ll have to fight three diamonds?” Peridot shrieked.

“Either way we need Steven.” He replied. “Let’s get out of here!”


	24. Save Yourself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven and Connie have finally gotten to the solar plant, unfortunately Roxillan is waiting for them. The gems are poofed, Pilot is otherwise occupied, and Mighty Spark is far away. The only people who can save them are themselves.

As she and her boyfriend ascended in the elevator, Connie felt a strange combination of pain and numbness on her chest, just below her clavicle.

She recalled her numerous injuries she had attained when the robanoid exploded, but Steven had patched her up, and such injuries never hurt once Steven had worked his magic on them. Perhaps, she thought, there was some sort of shrapnel now sealed into her flesh that she would need surgery to remove. She hoped not, she hated hospital food and her mother would have a field day if she came back from her mission needing medical attention.

That reminded her, she would have to have a talk with Steven before they got home, defining exactly what he could and could not tell her parents about. If they knew that she had almost died in an explosion she would be lucky to be let out of her room by her late thirties.

Thinking of hospitals and her mother gave rise to another thought. It could be the beginning of a heart attack. No, she told herself. She was too young and physically fit to worry about such things. Sure, she had been born with ICRM, but she had recovered from her rotated heart mere weeks after she was born, she had developed no later life complications because of it. She put a hand on her chest, just to make sure. Her pulse felt regular.

Steven noticed her movement. “are you feeling alright Connie?”

“Yeah.” She replied. “Just nerves.”

He squeezed her hand. “We’re almost done.” He assured her. “Just have to get rid of this thing and we can go talk to White.” He briefly took out the black spindle before pocketing it again. As he put the item away, his fingers grazed against another object in his pocket, his phone. He took it out and checked the screen. “Hey, I have bars!”

Connie checked her phone. “Me too!” She exclaimed. “I guess it’s because we aren’t underground anymore!” 

“We should call Pilot!” Steven grinned, so happy to be able to talk to somebody. “We’ve been out of contact for hours, he could be worried.” He found Pilot’s number in his contacts and called him.

The phone rang without being picked up. When Pilot’s voice came it was pre-recorded. “You’ve reached Pilot’s clothes phone! I can’t answer right now, which means I’m either busy or naked! Please leave a message after the beep!” His words were followed by a beep.

Concerned, Steven left a message. “Hey Pilot, it’s Steven. Sorry I didn’t call sooner; Connie and I didn’t have any bars. We’re alright, we’re just going up an elevator in the solar plant. Hope you’re ok, call back as soon as you can. Bye.” He looked over to Connie. “Is there anyone else we can call?”

“I’ll call Pearl.” She replied.

As with Pilot, the phone rang out to Pearl’s answerphone. “Hello, this is the mobile telephone of Pearl. I’m afraid I can’t answer your call right now, so please leave a message with your name and-,”

Her voice was interrupted by Amethyst’s. “Yo P! Coming through!” She laughed.

“Amethyst!” Pearl complained. “You can’t stack things that high when you’re carrying them! It isn’t safe, you’re going to-!” There was a crash of many different materials followed by the beep of an answer phone.

Also dismayed, Connie gave a message. “Hi Pearl, it’s Connie. We’ve been out of communication for a while and I just wanted to tell you Steven and I are ok and wanted to make sure you were too. Call back soon!” She held the phone pensively after she hung up. “Who else has a phone?” She wondered aloud.

“I think Mighty Spark does.” Steven realised. “Do you have his number?”

“No.” The girl replied.

“Me neither.” He sighed. “Is there anyone else we can call?”

“Our parents.” It hadn’t been the most tactically correct answer, but it was her most pressing thought. “We’ve been gone much longer than we said we would be. They’re probably worried.” She justified. In addition, she wanted to hear her mother and father’s voices.

Both Steven and Connie went to call their parents when the elevator doors before them opened. Not wanting to be distracted from potential danger, both put their phones away and readied their weapons. The large balcony they stepped out on seemed empty, for a moment it was hard to tell, the light of Homeworld’s star half blinded them after hours of adjusting to darkness and dim artificial light.

As their eyes recovered, they saw the balcony’s furnishing, a small throne, a table, and a giant statue in Roxillan’s likeness, all constructed from the same metal as the floor. Cautiously, Steven and Connie stepped out of the elevator, jumping and turning back in surprise as the doors slammed shut behind them.

They tuned back just as quickly as they felt a darkness behind them. Amid the rapidly vanishing black aether, Roxillan stood proudly, one hand behind her back the other raised so she could scrutinise the yellow pearl she held gently in her fingertips. She seemed to lose interest in the gem as her eyes turned to the new arrivals. “Hello my babies.”

They grimaced uncomfortably at her words. Connie pointed her sword at the kelmep. “Don’t call us that.”

“Come to mummy.” She ordered, a mad saccharine sweetness frolicked from her lips.

Steven prepared to throw his shield at her.

“I wouldn’t do that.” She smiled.

Steven hesitated.

From behind her back Roxillan produced a small glass box containing the gems of Ruby, Sapphire, Amethyst, and Pearl. Roxilan glanced at the yellow pearl in her other hand before tossing it over her shoulder at the column of liquid light that burned in the building’s core.

“No!” Both teens screamed, helplessly reaching in the flying gem’s direction.

“You didn’t care about her that much did you?” Roxillan questioned casually. It was well that she didn’t bother to watch the gem’s arc, or she would have seen the blue and black ribbon extend out from behind the statue of her likeness and, like a chameleon’s tongue with a fly, catch and draw the stone back in to safety. “She was only Yellow Diamond’s servant,” Roxillan continued, “you hardly knew her.”

Both Steven and Connie had seen the save and both had the same silent thought process. That ribbon belonged to Pilot, which meant he was hiding on the balcony with them. They couldn’t challenge Roxillan while she held the gems, but they could keep her distracted long enough for Pilot to save them. They just had to play along and not give him away.

“You didn’t have to destroy her like that!” Steven shouted, well able to use his outrage at Roxillan’s disregard for life as a performance of grief.

“Of course I did, my child. Mummy’s hands were full. Now come here.” Her tone was slightly more forceful as she stroked the lip of the box with her now free fingers.

Connie and Steven stepped a little way forward, enough to hopefully satisfy her demand without getting in reach.

“We don’t need the weapons right now.” She plucked Amethyst from the box.

Reluctantly, both teens dismissed their weapons.

“Now, lets take a look at you.” Roxillan scanned them, her eyes made them uncomfortable, she seemed to forget to emote as she looked. Suddenly her emotions came back as she tutted. “Just look at the pair of you! Your clothes are all torn and dirty! Where are your shoes? Aren’t your feet cold?”

They looked at each other, leaving their shoes at the lower elevator doors was the least of their problems right now. “We’re fine.” Connie stated.

Her smile not dithering, Roxillan altered her grip on the purple gem as if she was about to smash it against something. “We’re fine…”

There was a pause. “Mom?” She finally capitulated.

Roxillan put Amethyst’s gem back in the box with the widest smile on her face. “Oh, my dear daughter!” Suddenly, Roxillan was upon her, holding her in an embrace one could almost mistake for being loving on the outside. 

Steven didn’t know what to do, Roxillan was within his reach, but held both the gems and Connie hostage. He watched the kelmep’s hands like a hawk, ready to strike the moment she tried to hurt his girlfriend.

Though Steven couldn’t tell, Roxillan was hurting Connie. The outwardly tender embrace was possessive and desperate. Roxillan’s free hand clung onto the back of Connie’s skull like a hyena’s jaws. Connie’s face was pressed into the supple leather breastplate Roxillan wore, half suffocating her. Roxillan was not superhumanly strong, but her hold was tight in all the wrong places. Connie could hear the undertones of Roxillan’s gentle breath, and they were those of somebody fighting to stay alive, as if she were trying to inhale Connie’s vitality. Worst of all, the pain and numbness in Connie’s chest grew worse with each of Roxillan’s secretly desperate gasps.

Being so close to Roxillan made Connie feel like she was dying.

Roxillan was so close, Connie could easily stab her. So why didn’t she? Surely, if Pilot was there behind the statue’s plinth, he was silently begging her to break her promise to him.

As Roxillan let go, Connie couldn’t help but half collapse as she grasped her chest and throat, coughing and gasping. As unstifled air filled her lungs she understood. If Connie had killed Roxillan then, the kelmep would have taken the girl with her.

Steven immediately helped Connie stay standing. “What did you do to her!?” He demanded.

“I was going to give my baby a kiss,” Roxillan scrutinised Connie’s chest, “but…” she reached out but the pair stepped back reflexively. “Have you been hurt Connie?”

“You sent a robot after us!” She snapped back, gathering her strength again.

Roxillan’s curiosity trumped her need to display dominance. “It was programmed not to cause serious injury. I would never allow my babies to come to real harm.”

“It exploded.” Connie stated.

Roxillan smiled in a way that worried the pair. “Could it be,” she thought, “the spindle in the machine broke into fragments? Potentially useful, if push comes to shove.”

“What do you want?” Steven asked.

“Only the children I deserve.” She looked them over with an almost teary smile. “Oh, what beautiful killers you will be! I am so proud already, of your progress.”

“Progress?” He questioned denyingly.

“We can plan for the future tomorrow dears.” Roxillan assured them. “But for now, you are tired. I’ll call us a shuttle to Pink Diamond’s tower so you can rest.” She sat on her throne, activating the communicator Blue Pearl had brought her. “This is the Silver Duchess. Requesting high priority pickup from-,”

“Who are you?” The jasper on the screen demanded. She was her natural orange colour; colour had also been restored to the other quartzes in the small area with her. “This is an emergency diamond hotline!” She stated more firmly. “Who are you and how do you have access to it?”

“I’m the Silver Duchess, your superior.” Roxillan’s eyes widened.

“You aren’t even a gem!” The jasper exclaimed.

Roxillan drew in her fist.

The communicator sounded with screams as spears burst forth from the quartzes' shadows, piercing them as the feed cut off. “Synthetic wankers.” Roxillan muttered.

“W-What was that?” Steven stammered, shocked by the casual violence.

“It seems White is causing problems.” Roxillan explained. “We’ll have to deal with her before bedtime dearies.” Roxillan walked across the balcony.

“Deal with?” Connie queried, already knowing the answer.

Roxillan stopped in front of her statue and turned to Connie. “The pair of you are going to shatter her.” She stated.

“We can’t do that.” Steven replied.

“Oh, but I’ll help you dear.” Roxillan assured.

“But White is how you’re controlling Homeworld, Right?” Connie pointed out.

“Controlling?” Roxillan scoffed. “I was only keeping it in working order until the pair of you came back. When you shatter White, you’ll be heroes! Blue and Yellow won’t dare object to Stevonnie’s rulership. I won’t even use my powers on anyone without your command. When you two become known as the champions that shattered White, you’ll be free to make the whole gem empire the utopia you always thought it could be.” She focused her attention on Steven. “That’s what you want, right baby? A world where no gem must suffer? What’s one unrepentant gem to that?”

“What makes you call her that? Has she ever had had the chance to be a nicer gem?” Steven asked.

A rectangular hole appeared behind Roxillan’s head, on the statue’s plinth.

“Have I ever had the chance to be a better mother?” Roxillan answered.

Steven glanced from his girlfriend to Roxillan. He knew that the larger likelihood was that Roxillan was faking, but if this was a genuine cry for help, Steven’s conscience wouldn’t let him abandon her. He helped Connie to her feet. “You need help Roxillan. Come back with us, Pilot only wants to keep you from hurting people while he finds a cure. He loves you.”

“He does?” Suddenly, Roxillan covered her face and started to cry. “T-That’s all I want, a child of mine to love me! I’ve done so many horrible things and you’re right, I need help. Help me Steven!”

Steven took a step toward Roxillan.

Connie caught his arm. “Are you crazy!” She asked through gritted teeth. “She’s lying!”

Steven took another look at the sobbing kelmep. “But what if she isn’t?” He freed himself from Connie’s grasp. “Just watch my back.” Steven approached Roxillan. “It’s going to be ok. You just have to let the gems go and we can-,”

“Help me Steven… Help me… By never leaving me again!” Roxillan stabbed down with her spear, aiming for the torso to pin him to the floor.

Her spear never grazed him as Connie leapt in, deflecting the blow with her sword. “I knew it!” As her opponent registered the situation, Connie landed a high kick to the chest sending her staggering back into the plinth behind her. Instead of pressing the attack, Connie’s eyes widened.

From the hole in the plinth, a large, whiteish-pink hand grabbed the back of Roxilan’s skull. The hand dragged her in through the hole and, not a second later, there was the disturbing snap of her neck.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Steven saw the box Roillan held had smashed, the gems inside scattered on the floor. He moved to collect them.

Connie stopped him. She was wise enough to not automatically trust a mysterious pink hand with unknown intentions and the power to snap necks. “Hello?” She called. “Thank you for saving us. You can come out now.”

The hand came out of the darkness of the plinth’s internal cavity and signalled them to not approach.

“We’re not going to hurt you. We just want to pick up those gems Roxillan dropped.” Steven explained carefully. “They’re my family, I just want to keep them safe.”

The hand reappeared, holding the heart of the kelmep it had just pulled in. The hand stretched out farther, revealing itself to be attached to a bulky, though not flabby or ripped, arm dressed with dark hairs. In one fluid motion, the arm tossed the black spindle several metres into the light fluid. The spindle evaporated into black mist as it touched the burning light.

“What are you?” Steven questioned, realising that gems didn’t have body hair as far as he knew.

The hand held up three fingers.

“I don’t understand.”

The hand held up one finger.

Connie got the unshakable impression that the hand’s owner was being intentionally obstinate with her boyfriend. “Please just answer him,” she complained, “we’ve had a really long day and I’m tired.”

The hand held up four fingers and the arm shook a bit as if its owner was trying to keep their mirth inaudible.

Connie swallowed her rage at the uncooperative limb, deciding that its predilection to play such mind games with them suggested a nonviolent intent. She crept forward to collect the gems. She quickly stopped and took on a defensive stance as the arm moved violently.

The arm did not hit her, it only straightened itself. It pointed directly at her traveling companion’s pocket.

Steven reached into his pocket, eyes locked onto the limb as he took out the bubbled black spindle. The pointed index finger tracked the accursed item as he moved it about to make sure it was what the mysterious stranger had meant to point to. “I’m not sure how you know we have this…”

The hand pointed upwards before unfurling all its digits.

Realising the hand was back to playing its finger games, Connie sighed. “What do you want us to do with it?”

The hand pointed towards the column of liquid light, where it had thrown its spindle.

“You want us to destroy it?” Connie interpreted. “Alright, we were going to do that anyway.”

Giving one final look to the mysterious hand, now giving a thumbs up, she and Steven walked towards the light fluid. Standing just behind the safety railing, they had to squint against the light as the heat baked their faces, they could tell approaching any farther could be hazardous to their health even if there was a floor instead of open air between them.

Steven took out the black spindle again.

“Is that bubble heatproof?” Connie asked.

Steven was unsure. His bubbles were tolerant to heat, he knew, but what about this much heat combined with the fluid pressure? He couldn’t risk the heart surviving. The bubble popped, its contents landing in his palm.

“If you do this, you are killing her!” He heard Roxillan’s voice scream. “I’m all that can protect her! You know nothing of tragedy, it will take you by surprise and take her! Listen to me!”

Steven took a shaking breath.

“Together?” Connie offered.

Steven nodded his head.

Connie laced her fingers through Steven’s so that she was holding the heart also.

“Your time will run out Connie.” The heart told her. “You are mortal, growing weaker with each victory until your luck or your body gives out. Who will be there for him when you fall Connie? Will you be the first in a long line of concubines he takes? Will his sanity get tied up in your life and go with you? Or will you be Connie Maheswaran, Warrior Eternal. You can’t settle for a station beneath you…”

Connie nodded. “Three.”

Steven fixed his eyes on their target. “Two.”

“One.” Together, they slung the heart forward, all of its dark words becoming silent as they relinquished it. It evaporated instantly against the column of light.

Both youths stepped back from the railing and turned to the sound of clapping.

The hand clapped its fingers to its palm in a small round of applause.

“Can we pick up the gems now?” Asked Steven as he and Connie took their first steps back toward the hand.

The hand gave a somewhat apologetic wave before slipping back into its dark hole. The hole was briefly illuminated by an internal blue light, followed by an instant of sunlight, followed by a return to darkness.

Before they could comprehend the hand’s final communication, both teens flinched as something rushed past behind them and the floor groaned.

Turning back, they saw the floor directly behind them had been sliced from side to side, not all the way through, but enough that the floor began to slant violently under their feet. Connie was the first to react as they began to slide, with a leap, she caught the cut edge of the floor and hung on tight. Instants slower, Steven caught Connie’s foot.

Connie brought down one hand. “Steven! I’ll pull you up!”

Steven was also looking down, however. Everything that wasn’t nailed down headed for the long drop off the sharp incline, including the poofed gems. He let go of Connie. “Get to safety! I’ll be right back!” He began to tumble as he ran desperately to catch his family. Their head start and the difficulty of running on a steep incline kept him behind so that as he reached the far railing, all four gems flew over the edge. Without a thought, he leapt after them.

Although she knew that Steven had floating powers, seeing him leap off the building alarmed Connie. Taking deep breaths, she analysed the situation. Alone and hanging from a ledge, her first job should be to do as Steven requested, find somewhere where the danger of falling was smaller. She began to shuffle along the ledge until the statue plinth was directly beneath her. It was quite a way below her, but Connie could control her speed by sliding along the floor. She let go.

The landing was harder than she had expected. “Ow ow ow ow.” She muttered. Connie wasn’t that badly hurt, but she needed to voice her pain and exhaustion. Seeing as she was alone, she took greater opportunity. “Fuck! This! Day!” She yelled at Homeworld’s skyline.

“Connie?” A familiar voice called. A blue and black ribbon wrapped around the neck of Roxillan’s statue. Holding on to it, Pilot swung around to land on the statue’s chest. “Connie!” He grinned.

“Pilot!” She exclaimed. “Are you alright?” She saw black blood staining his clothes and though he hid it well, she could tell he was in physical pain.

Pilot knew Connie was too intelligent to fall for a complete fabrication. “Yeah, just got out of a fight with Topaz.”

“The fusion?”

“Yeah, she’s fine now.” He glanced back at the face of his biological mother, rendered in metal. “Is Roxillan around?” He ran down the statue's body and along its leg before scampering up the plinth.

“She’s dead.” Connie helped him up.

Pilot’s betrayed and suddenly terrified expression made Connie glad it was unwarranted.

“I didn’t kill her.” When his expression didn’t diminish, she added, “Steven didn’t either. There was a hand in this statue, I don’t really know what-”

“The pebbles' secret weapon.” He suddenly smiled, with more understanding than Connie had. He frowned again as he looked around. “Where is Steven?”

“Roxillan poofed Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. When the floor fell, their gems slipped off the edge. Steven jumped after them.”

Pilot leant over the edge in search of the boy. He was too far down. Pilot put on his sunglasses. “Backup, zoom.” After a moment and a sigh, he rephrased his command. “Backup, zoom item glasses.”

“Backup?” Connie questioned. “What’s happened to Axia?”

Pilot kept looking down.

“Pilot, what happened to your mother?”

Pilot stood back from the edge. “She’s hurt. She isn’t responding. Steven can fix her though.” His voice was begging for confirmation.

“Probably.” Connie replied comfortingly. “How bad is it?”

Pilot took the egg-shaped CPU out of his suit to inspect it. As it was the first time he had inspected with a clear mind, Pilot only then noticed the blue glow emanating from the wide cracks.

“Is it warp energy?” Connie asked.

Pilot shook his head slowly. “Just blue light but… How could I not have realised before?”

“Realised what?”

Pilot put the CPU back between his shoulder blades. “Connie, get on my back.”

“O-Okay?” She started to climb up. “What are we doing?”

“Following Steven.” Pilot replied, smiling slightly too widely for someone about to jump from a tower. “If he doesn’t get White to cure the corruption, I will! Hold on tight.” With that he leapt down onto the statue, ran down to the end and threw himself off in a swan dive.


	25. A Mother to Hold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven has done it! White Diamond has resolved to change her ways and now all that's left to do is cure the courupted gems. the price was higher than Steven knows however as Pilot prepares to say goodbye.

Steven had done it. With the help of his friends and allies, White Diamond was better than back to her usual self, White had been convinced to change her ways, a truce had been made with Earth, and finally the gems so long ago corrupted could be cured.

Bubbled gems had been brought in by the armload to Rose’s Fountain, an area rich in the essence of Steven’s mother. All three of the remaining Diamonds, White, Yellow, and Blue entered the pink water with Steven, who wore his trunks. As floating bubbles popped, the gems they held sank before arising in humanoid forms, only slight alterations to their forms suggesting at their time as monsters.

Steven swam around the pool, greeting gems and catching them up on what they had missed. Reactions were mixed, there was shock, anger, and grief, but overall, most gems were glad to be back and most of the original crystal gems were glad that their war was finally over.

As Steven made his introductions, he wished Connie was around to see this. The girl had refused to come, however. “The corrupted gems are finally getting to see each other again.” She had explained. “I think they need some time with each other before being introduced to modern humans.”

Pilot on the other hand had virtually insisted he be in attendance. “When those original Crystal Gems are cured, they’re going to want to know where the Pilot is. As the current Pilot, I should tell them that old Archie’s gone.”

Steven wouldn’t have barred Pilot from attending, even without a reason, so the kelmep and his father stood at the pools edge. Mighty Spark stood a distance away, watching on, Pilot was closer to the pools edge, speaking to cured gems, informing them as he had stated he would. Steven could tell that father and son were both unhappy for some reason.

Pilot smiled as he introduced himself, laughed, and made jokes, but the expression would disappear as soon as he stepped away from a conversation. He also seemed to be on edge, he dodged splashes and playful attempts to pull him into the fountain as if it were filled with acid. Mighty Spark also lacked a smile, a feature seemingly ubiquitous to him normally. Their upset was all the more jarring for the jubilation around them. The diamonds were glad to have Steven, their connection to their lost sister, become part of their family. Amethyst was ecstatic to meet and befriend new gems, while Garnet and Pearl cried tears of joy to see their old friends returned. Even Jasper had calmed down from her brief outburst. Steven swam towards Pilot.

Pilot was speaking to a red and yellow gem who had introduced herself to Steven as Bixbite. “Are you sure you don’t remember anything?” He asked her. “Giant crab? Battle on the beach? Am I jolting any memories?”

Bixbite tapped her crab claw against her shell-like helmet thoughtfully. “No, sorry.”

“I see. Thank you.” Pilot stood up and looked around. “Nephrite!” He ran around the pool before Steven got close enough to start talking.

The boy changed course to follow him.

“Hey there Nephrite!” Pilot called welcomingly. “I couldn’t ask you a few things could I?”

Nephrite shrugged and swam up to the edge of the pool, her crew sticking close to her. “Sure, ask away.”

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

Nephrite strained her mind. “I was trying to find my crew to evacuate… there was a bright light, a sound, a song? I remember a searing-.”

“Yes, a lot of gems have similar memories.” Pilot cut her off. “Anything more recent?”

She thought harder. “The diamonds touching me, everything around them was green. I identified myself.”

“Anything else?” Pilot pressed, some desperation edging in.

“Let me think.” As she thought, Nephrite hummed quietly. “I love chips, you love chip, we love chips from chaaaps…”

“You remember the jingle!?” Pilot exclaimed with renewed hope.

“Jingle? Where did I learn that song?”

“From Steven! Do you remember Steven?”

“Yes.”

“From when you were a little Centipeetle? Or when you were Partially cured?”

“From when he introduced himself to me a little while ago. He’s nice!” She gave Pilot a smile to lift his visibly falling spirits.

“He certainly is.” Pilot agreed, turning and walking away from the pool.

At the same time, Steven got within calling range. “Pilot wait up! What’s going on?”

Pilot looked over his shoulder and beckoned him.

Steven paddled to the edge and climbed out, catching up to Pilot’s slow pace even with his head start. “What’s wrong?”

“You know how I said I could fix my mum?”

Dread hit Steven’s stomach at the thought of anyone having died to achieve his victory. “Can’t you do it?”

“I’m going to fix her in a few minutes.”

Relieved, Steven smiled and looked back at the pool. “Good idea! This water can probably fix just about anything.”

Before Pilot could answer, they approached his father. “Any luck?” Mighty Spark enquired.

Pilot shook his head. “None of them remember anything of when they were corrupted.”

“We’ll catch them up on what they missed though.” Steven assured, trying to inject everyone else’s happiness into the sullen non-gems.

“Of course Steven.” The old man agreed in an unusually dismissive manner. He turned to his son, changing the subject. “You don’t have to do this son. Axia always said Misty created her.”

“Clearly she was lying.”

“Even if she didn’t make her, she may have designed the outer shell, we might be able to fix it so we can talk to Axia about this.”

“It might take centuries to find the design. She’s waited long enough. And even if we did find it, do you think we could convince all the diamonds to come back to Earth for one gem? Who knows how long this peace will last?”

“It’ll last.” Steven interjected. “The diamonds aren’t just allies, they’re family.”

“Of course.” Mighty spark agreed again. “But in any case, you’re right Pilot. There’s no reason to delay, no matter the consequences.”

With a nod, Pilot turned and headed back to the pool. His father and Steven walked beside him.

“No reason to delay what?” The youngest among them questioned.

“Axia has served the Pilot for hundreds of years.” Mighty Spark recounted. “Thousands if Misty was lying.”

“Now its time we paid her back.” Pilot explained. “And fulfilled Archibald’s promise to her.” As Pilot approached the water’s edge, he removed Axia’s damaged CPU from his pocket.

Sensing the kelmep’s mood, the cured gems gave him space. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl approached.

Cupping the CPU in his hands, Pilot knelt down to the water’s surface. “Goodbye mum.” He whispered, trying not to cry before what was sure to be another cause for celebration for the gems. He dropped the ball of circuitry into the water.

For a few seconds, the damage seemed to repair itself. Suddenly the cracks exacerbated, the silicone and wiring fell away like eggshell. Light grew from the glowing blue core, expanding into humanoid form as the mass rose. It ascended up past the water’s surface, lifted on two pairs of wings sprouting from the back. The glow of the core faded enough to reveal it as a tear-shaped blue gemstone, set into the mass’ forehead as the light became being.

“Axia? Aquamarine?” Steven gasped.

The blue gem was a few inches taller than other aquamarines Steven had encountered by virtue of her being an Era 1 model, but all the hallmarks of her kind were there. She had the round blue face, the white gloves and stockings with little flat shoes, dark blue to match her knee length skirt. Her top consisted of a lighter blue vest interrupted with a white stripe that bowed outward at the top, creating a vaguely heart shaped impression. Her sleeveless shoulders were covered by white epaulets. Like many of the gems around her, she was marked by her corruption. Her face was framed by side bangs, notably separate from her bob of cerulean hair and reminiscent of mandibles. Her upper pair of wings were also affected, transformed into a pair of dark blue, opaque elytra, like a beetle’s shell. She seemed dazed and agitated. “Pilot, don’t blame yourself, it’ll be alright…”

Recognising another old friend and not having seen she arose from Axia’s CPU, Bismuth swam up to her. “Aquamarine!” She exclaimed happily.

“Bismuth!” The smaller gem recognised, allowing herself to be pulled back into the water for a hug. “Did we win? Is everyone else safe?”

“It’s ok.” She assured her. “The war’s over. The diamond’s have made peace! We’re free!”

“What?”

“It’s all thanks to this meatball!” Bismuth explained, pointing to the pools edge. “His name’s Steven. He’s Rose Quartz’s son. It’s kind of like she-.”

“I know what a son is.” Aquamarine interrupted. “Where’s Pilot?”

“Oh.” Bismuth frowned. “I’m afraid our Pilot died a long time ago. There’s a different Pilot now, he’s great! I’m sure you’ll get along with him.”

“Where is he?”

The gems and Steven suddenly realised both Pilot and his father were gone. Looking around they spotted them heading for the exit. “Hey guys! Pilot! Mighty Spark!” Bismuth called. “Where you going!? I want to introduce you to Aquamarine!” Bismuth caught the upset expressions on the faces of Steven, Amethyst, and Pearl. “What’s up with you guys? Aren’t you happy to see Aquamarine again?” She gave an uncomfortable chuckle. “I know she made up that rhyme about you and Rose, Pearl, but after five thousand years…”

Pearl gave a downward glance that Bismuth followed. She saw the pieces of Axia’s motherboard at the bottom of the pool beneath where Aquamarine had risen from. The penny dropped.

On hearing Bismuth’s call, Mighty Spark had stopped with his son. “Do you want to run kid?”

Pilot shook his head. “If I run now, I’ll never be able to come back. I can’t do that to my apprentices.”

“Let’s face the music then.”

“No matter how painful it is.” He turned around with a forced smile as the gem who had been his mother’s mind fluttered over to him. “Hello Aquamarine.”

“Pilot?” She asked.

“Yes. Not the one you knew, but I hope we can be friends.” Suddenly, he reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out his black towel. “Do you need a towel?”

Aquamarine took the towel but didn’t use it, continuing to stare at him. “You cured me?”

“Well, Steven and the diamonds cured you, I just put you in the water.” He glanced away before quickly looking back. “You don’t need to be scared of them anymore, they’re on our side for now. Have you met Steven?”

“Y-Yes. You put me in the water?”

“Yes. Your Pilot gave his word to cure you and I’m happy to have fulfilled his promise.”

“You put me in that water thinking I would forget about you.”

Pilot’s mouth fell open slightly, not daring to hope this was going the way it was.

“You’re my baby!” Aquamarine cried, tears welling up as she flew in to hold him. “I’ll never forget you!”

Pilot’s arms clasped around his mother’s small body. “Mum!” He sobbed.

“Don’t you ever, ever, ever try to hurt yourself for my sake again!” She demanded through tears.

Steven ran up, the others following him. “Axia? You remember when you were corrupted?”

“Misty’s computer restored my consciousness. I remember everything that happened while I was online.”

Mighty Spark reached out to touch the gem, his broad smile returning. “Axi!”

Aquamarine wriggled out of her son’s arms. “Don’t you ‘Axi’ me!” She flew up and pinched the man by the ear. “What were you thinking? Letting him do this?”

“You deserved to be cured.” He apologised, unable to stop smiling. “We couldn’t fix your outer shell.”

“I’ve been corrupted for five thousand years, I could wait a few more!” She gave him a rather ineffectual smack on the forehead. “That’s for letting our son get so upset, you egotistical, amazon chasing bum!” She took a deep breath to calm herself. She smacked him again before turning back to her son.

“What was the second one for.” Mighty Spark chuckled.

Aquamarine looked over her shoulder with a rather coy smile. “That was for all the flirting you did as a teenager.”

Mighty Spark’s mouth snapped shut with embarrassment.

“I told you I wasn’t your type.” She teased.

“You know, I don’t think many people would be this surprised to hear their parents were romantically involved.” Pilot stated embarrassedly.

“He wishes it was involvement.” Aquamarine chuckled.

Amethyst couldn’t help but snort at the comment. “Man! That’s crazy! Do I have to cover the kid’s ears Axi?” She jokingly covered Steven’s ears before reconsidering. “I mean Aquamarine.”

“What should we call you?” Pilot asked.

“Either name is fine.” Aquamarine reached out and held his head, stroking his hair. “But you,” his hair was soft and smooth, as she had imagined it was through the cameras of their ship and drones, “can keep calling me mum.” She turned his head up and planted a kiss on his forehead.

“Hey Aquamarine!” A voice called. A group of recently healed quartzes jogged over. “What are you doing over here? Everyone is catching up in the fountain.”

“Biggs! Crazy Lace! Snowflake!” Aquamarine grinned, keeping an arm around Pilot. “Have you met my son?”


	26. New Residents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Homeworld looking forward to a bright new future, gems are finally tasting freedom; freedom to choose how to live their live, who to live them with, and what planet to live them on.

Connie passed through the unlocked screen door, knowing she was expected. “Hey Steven! Any change since yesterday?”

Steven waved in the direction of his girlfriend’s voice, not daring to tare his eyes from what he was looking at. “Hi Connie! Emerald reformed a few hours ago. She went back to Homeworld by the galaxy warp as soon as everything was explained to her.”

Once the corrupted gems had been cured, the remaining bubbled gems in the temple had largely been those captured in the heist. Those gems had been brought out and freed, along with a large number of gems Pilot handed over with no explanation as to where he had kept them all. Those gems that hadn’t immediately regenerated Steven placed on individual cushions and kept a near constant watch over with help from his fellow Crystal Gems. Connie came around every day, nominally to help watch, but also to make sure her boyfriend was looking after himself and not staying up all hours staring at stones.

“So, only two left?” Connie nodded at the remaining pillows.

“Pearl and Peridot.” Steven nodded towards the remaining cushions.

The Crystal Gems of the same name perked up. Peridot, who was lying on the sofa out of boredom, rolled off onto her face before getting up and scampering over. “Connie! You came over to see me again!”

“Hello Peridot. How are you?”

The gem sighed dramatically. “Emerald was the worst to deal with! It’s a good thing Bismuth and I were around, or she would have smashed up the place.” She waved over to Bismuth for confirmation.

Bismuth came over to talk to Connie as her conversation with Pearl had ended when Pearl had noticed the door open a second time and went to welcome her latest guest.

“Good morning Doctor.” Pearl greeted. “Would you like some tea? Coffee?”

“Coffee, please.” Priyanka replied. She or her husband had brought Connie every morning that week and she had only had brief moments to ask about what had happened on Homeworld to her daughter before she had to leave for work. Today was different, it was her day off, she had all the time in the world to question the gems. “But you were telling me about Homeworld, you got to the point where you sent Steven and my daughter into a waste chute.”

Before Pearl could answer, they were interrupted by a green glow. The inverted triangular stone lifted from its pillow, the light shining from it took on humanoid form. The peridot clutched her chest with a surprised gasp. “What!? Where? Pearl!”

Steven stood and held out his hands peacefully. “It’s ok Peridot, everything is fine.”

“My Di- I mean… Steven! What happened? One moment I was turning the lights on, the next…”

“Morganite shot you with a destabiliser.” Steven explained. “But you’re safe now.”

At the words ‘Morganite shot you’ the Homeworld peridot’s mind had blanked out. In distress, she ran her fingers through her hair, flattening he conical pigtails against her neck. The sensation brought about another realisation. She brought a bare hand to her face and wriggled her fingers. “M-My limb enhancers! Where are my limb enhancers!?”

“Oh.” Steven realised. “We kinda… forgot to bring those back from Homeworld.”

“You… You forgot!? Wait, where are we!?” Her eyes widened at the sight of sand and water out of Steven’s window.

The Crystal Gem’s peridot cleared her throat. “Welcome to Earth sister!”

“Sister?” The new arrival turned, lurching back in shock at her fellow peridot. “Oh my stars!”

Peridot chuckled good humouredly. “Forget about your limb enhancers, they’re so out of style here.”

“O-Out of style?” The other peridot stammered. “Did you fall on your gem when you emerged?”

“There’s no need to be such a clod about it.”

“I’m being a clod? You’re the clod here!”

“You clod!”

“Clod!”

“Clod!”

Steven interposed himself between the bickering peridots. “Guys! Let’s just agree to disagree for now. We can have the gems at the reclamation plant bring them over. They wanted us to call them when the two of you were back.”

“Two?” The pigtailed peridot turned back to the spot she had regenerated and gave a horrified gasp at the round, purple stone she saw. “Pearl!” She knelt before the gem hands reaching out from how badly she wanted to cradle it. “I’m so sorry. I should have been there to protect you.”

Connie put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s not your fault. She’ll be glad to see you when she recovers.”

“Why? Why would she care about a peridot like me?”

“She likes you. She wants to live free on Earth but she’d like you to be with her.”

“Together? On Earth? With her? I wouldn’t know where to start!”

“Well, there are plenty of gems who felt like that,” Steven assured her, “and we’re showing them all how life on Earth is done!”

The gem glanced from Steven to Connie to the pearl in her hands. “W-Well, I suppose there’s no harm in-” Suddenly, the stone she held started to glow. “Eep! Not now!” She carefully laid the stone on its pillow and sprinted across the room into Steven’s bathroom.

Steven was the first to pursue her and stand at the door. “What’s wrong. She’ll be happy to see you!”

“Not without my limb enhancers she won’t! My superior hight! My impressive blast cannons! What am I without them?"

Steven’s answer was cut off by a cry. “I’ve never been happier with any other gem in my life!” As she completed her final words, the purple pearl realised her location had changed. “Where am I?”

Connie took her hand gently. “Earth.”

“I’m on Earth?” She blinked before fully taking in her surroundings. “Connie! We escaped! We’re on Earth! It’s just like you said!” She started to point frantically around the room. “The Renegade Pearl!”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Pearl smiled. “Don’t worry, you’re not the only gem to be overwhelmed by the Earth.”

Purple Pearl, in her excitement was already rushing around, inspecting items. She held up a coffee mug. “Incredible.” She dropped the item, Connie only just catching it before it smashed on the floor, running up to the girl’s mother. “Oh my stars! It’s My Mom!”

“Excuse me!?” Priyanka responded.

“I just wanted to thank you for making Connie!”

“You’re welcome?” The doctor replied, silently piling questions onto her daughter.

The overexcited gem passed her before suddenly stopping at the window. “Sand, water, so much water. It’s just like the picture.”

With a relieved sigh that the gem had finally calmed down, Connie stood beside her. “Do you want to go outside?”

Purple Pearl bit her lip. “It’s a lot bigger than it looked in the picture.” She started to back away from the window in awe before giving a start when she bumped into the table. “I can’t do this! I can’t do this alone!”

“You don’t have to.” Connie placed a comforting hand on her arm. “I’ll be with you.”

“No.” She stammered with some desperation. “I need… I need… Peridot!”

The triangular haired gem adjusted her elaborate visor with pride. “Well, I would be happy to show you my vast knowledge of Earth!”

Purple Pearl wasn’t looking at that peridot though. Her eyes had met those of the Peridot taking refuge in Steven’s bathroom, door open a crack so she could peer at her. “Peridot!”

Realising she had been seen, the pigtailed peridot slammed the door with yelp. “No! Don’t look at me!”

“Peridot! What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Purple Pearl ran up to the door, joining Steven with Connie following behind her.

“N-No. I don’t have my limb enhancers! I’m not tall and powerful anymore!”

“I don’t care about that! I care about you! I want to see you.”

“Y-You do?”

“Of course I do.”

“Peridot?” Steven called. “Can Pearl come in?”

“Y-Yes.”

Steven depressed the handle of the bathroom door and gestured for the gem beside him to enter.

Peridot stood nervously, toying with one of her pigtails as she waited for the inevitable exclamations of disgust.

None came. “Hello Peridot.” Purple Pearl smiled. “What are you doing in here?”

Not wanting to tell the truth, she thought quickly. “Uh, I was investigating this chamber’s hydromotive systems.” She gestured to Steven’s sink, the faucet running on full. “This one for example has two rotary switches to control water temperature.”

“Oh, interesting! What does that one do?” Purple Pearl pointed at the toilet.

“I’m not sure.” The pair approached the device. “What does this primitive lever do?”

Like kittens, the pair fled from the roar of water. As they passed through the door Peridot crashed into her friend’s legs as she turned around to hold her tight. There was a flash of light. Just before the new being could actualise, they broke apart.

“That was very not allowed.” Purple Pearl looked up fearfully in Steven and Connie’s direction only to find they weren’t there.

In their place grinned Stevonnie. “Actually, we don’t have a problem with fusion on Earth.”

“But it wasn’t even for a functional purpose!”

“Doesn’t always have to be one, Peridot.” The fusion shrugged. “Did you guys still want to look outside?”

Purple Pearl held Peridot’s hand. “Will you come with me?”

“Hang on!” She exclaimed. The smaller gem ran back into the bathroom and came out wielding Steven’s toothbrush. “Let’s go!”

As Pearl and Peridot tentatively explored the beach outside Steven’s house with Bismuth and their earthly counterparts guiding them, Stevonnie briefly nipped away to call Moss Agate via a hailing device gifted to Steven by the diamonds. Once the arrangements had been made, the fusion made their way back to the beach.

The rest of the daylight hours were spent getting the new gems familiar with the basics of Earth, the sun, the fresh air, the sand, the less daunting parts of the ocean. When they had gotten over their apprehension of the inanimate, Stevonnie moved them on to more complex things; plants, insects, birds, crabs, how not to get pinched by crabs, and fish. As the sun set, the pair of gems had the base of safety to truly start considering a life on Earth objectively.

There was a blue flash and a familiar chime of the warp pad from the temple. “That must be Moss Agate!” Stevonnie recognised.

“Moss Agate!?” The peridot who had worked under her exclaimed. “She’s here to take us back to Homeworld!”

“Oh! No!” Stevonnie assured. “She’s here to say goodbye. I’ll just bring her out.”

When Stevonnie came back out of the beach house, Moss Agate wasn’t the only gem with them, the rubies and quartzes had also come along. One face new to Stevonnie was a second jasper with a round gem on her forehead that one amethyst couldn’t help but grin at near constantly, so happy she was that they were safe and well.

As they left the house Stevonnie made small talk with the visitors. “Is that a new cape Moss Agate?”

The agate adjusted her slightly less angular shawl. “Yes, I made a few aesthetic changes when I reformed. Are they to your liking?”

Stevonnie stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “Wait! Reformed? You were poofed!?”

“Y-Yes my Steven… fusion.”

“How?”

“When Morganite reformed I told her what Steven told me to say. She attacked me.”

“I’m so sorry!” Stevonnie exclaimed. “Is your gem ok? Was anyone else hurt.”

“No, I am fine. She apparently tried to flee with my gem, but subordinates managed to chase her away. I don’t know what she wanted to do with me.” Though she didn’t want to suggest overreliance in front of a diamond, her grateful looks found the gems who saved her. Her attention found her staff’s technician. With a final bowing salute to the fusion, she went up to the peridot.

Like a deer in headlights, the gem froze, unsure if her agate was about to yell, hit her, or simply grab her and drag her back to Homeworld.

“We couldn’t bring your limb enhancers.” Moss Agate stated matter-of-factly. “The panic room had re-sealed itself and none of us were authorised to open it again.”

“Oh.” She replied not having heard her superior be so close to apologetic to her for anything before. “Well, I could requisition a new set eventually.”

“You wouldn’t likely be reprimanded,” the agate agreed, “You lost them in defence of a diamond.”

“It might take a while for an effective supply chain to Earth to be formed.” She considered.

“So you’re staying here?” Moss Agate deduced, the hard edge of her prior command rearing its ugly head.

“Uh…” Peridot gulped.

Moss Agate sighed. “I know I haven’t been the best gem to work with…” the words were hard for her, so she hid in more complex language. “Especially during the recent crisis.” It wasn’t working, Moss Agate knew Peridot was smart enough to read through her words and hear what she was really saying. She had lost her level head hiding from White Diamond, making her treat her workers awfully and making an already bad situation exponentially worse. “But I am doing my best to improve my style of management and if you would return to us, I will treat you in a more deserving manner.”

The green gem took a step backwards. “I… I’m going to stay here with Pearl,” she worried her agate would respond in anger at being rejected, “at least until she’s settled in!”

“Oh.” Moss Agate didn’t have much else to say, she hadn’t expected to be turned down. “I see.”

Bismuth strode in to make sure the agate didn’t try anything. Seeing her concerns were unfounded, she had another idea. “Why don’t you live here too?”

Moss Agate looked around at the unstable substrate at her feet, the gross overabundance of water that insisted on constantly lapping against it, and the strange green organisms that carpeted some rocks, motionlessly laying in wait, clearly plotting something. “No, no thank you.”

“Oh well.” Bismuth shrugged. “Even without you, these two aren’t the only gems looking for somewhere to live on Earth. Little Homeworld needs expanding!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this part of my Travels with the Pilot series. The next part takes place after the events of Steven Universe Future (baring the final episode). 
> 
> I hope you'll keep reading and, as always, comments are appreciated.


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